The Jacks
by Tylluan
Summary: Starting at the end of Day 1, this is an alternate universe look at what might have happened if Jack regenerated from other body parts. How would it have changed what happened in the subsequent days? *Spoiler warning for Children of Earth*
1. Chapter 1

Ianto watched from the rooftop, hidden by view as the military swarmed over the smoking hole in the ground in the middle of the Plass. Thanks to his quick thinking, they couldn't get past the first few levels since the blast doors had closed upon lockdown, effectively cutting everyone off of the storage areas of the Hub. Ianto's eyes tracked the movement of the rescue workers and he frowned when they pulled a couple of body parts together and put them on a stretcher. There wasn't much there, just part of the torso. Another worker came over with something wrapped in a towel and Ianto swallowed as he saw part of a skull get dumped onto the stretcher.

Jack's skull. He closed his eyes and laid flat against the roof, trying to stop himself from vomiting. They were picking over what was left of the Hub's main room, looking for whatever was left of Jack. Obviously, they knew he wouldn't stay dead for long, so they were gathering his body parts to take elsewhere. Ianto felt his stomach heaving when he thought of what happened to his lover. That last look as the lift was ascending was all he had to remember. Well, that and the kiss. Ianto reached up and touched his lips as he remembered.

"God, Jack," he murmured. "How did this happen?" He rolled over so he could peer over the edge again. The soldiers were putting the stuff on the stretcher into a body bag. There wasn't much. Ianto followed their movements as they loaded the remains into a van for transport. Pulling out a pen, he wrote the numbers on the back of his hand. If he could get to the library and a computer, he could then track the vehicle and rescue Jack. The library would be dicey if they had put out an APB for him or Gwen, then. He chewed his lip as he watched the crews moving about as if they were ants on a hill.

He wondered how long it would take for Jack to return to normal. As far as Ianto knew, he had never been blown to smithereens before, so he had no frame of reference when it came to regenerating from such a catastrophic death. Ianto shook his head. He had to concentrate. A helicopter flew overhead and he rolled under the shadow of aircon unit mounted to the roof so he wouldn't be noticed. He itched to be gone and to be away, but he also felt an urge to get into the blast site and see if they missed anything of Jack. He decided to stay and see whether the military forces left. It would take Jack some time to regenerate, so he would have time to find him.

Ianto waited. He was wedged under the edge of the aircon unit which made for an uncomfortable resting spot, but he was so exhausted by the events of the last day that he fell asleep, lulled by the continuous rumble of the machinery around him. When he woke, it was the middle of the night. Carefully he looked around to make sure that no one had come up onto the roof while he had been sleeping. All seemed quiet. He stayed to the shadows and moved to the ledge to look out over the Plass. There were some work lights scattered about, but the area of the blast looked deserted. He spied a couple of guards patrolling about, but a scan of the area buildings failed to show any sign of snipers. Good. They figured that they had the team on the run and that none of them would come back. Their first mistake was underestimating the Torchwood team. It was that mistake that Ianto would make certain would cost them.

Moving stealthily, he skulked over to the edge of the building and pried open the security door which led to the back of the building. The top of this building was the mechanical and ventilation support area for the office building below, so he wasn't concerned about being seen once he got inside. He quickly made his way down to the ground floor and out the back entrance by the garbage bins.

Once outside, he was more cautious, and worked his way in a wide circle around the Millennium Centre to the edge of the blast radius. He had gotten a good view from above, so he knew that there was a lot of scaffolding built around the site for access into the pit where he could make his way down for his own search for additional remains. He slipped from shadow to shadow, keeping a watchful eye out for the security forces which were watching the site. It was child's play to get past them and he silently shook his head at how easy it was.

Once on the scaffolding, he was far more cautious. He was exposed there and one glance at the wrong time from the security could get him caught. He was thankful for the dark clothing he had worn the day before as well as the dirt that covered his face, minimizing the chances of being seen. As soon as he could, he slipped beneath the scaffolding to walk in the debris. Once in the shadow of an overhanging piece of concrete, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his PDA. It had been damaged in the explosion, but he hoped it had enough range to do a search for bio matter. He had each of their individual signatures stored there, so he would have more luck in finding Jack than the MI5 had.

Shielding the device so that the telltale glow wouldn't give him away, he held his jacket around the PDA and did a scan. The device flickered sluggishly and he quietly cursed the damage as he coaxed information from it. He paused when he got a bio reading off to his left and he looked up to judge if there was a viable path in that direction. The area was shrouded in darkness and he was forced to just guess what the best route was. Moving as quietly as he could, he moved over to a bent support beam. Metal gleamed and he looked around to see if anyone could see him from where he was. He was below the edge of the mound around the pit so was not really visible to the guards. Good. He stared blankly at the metal he was crouched next to, trying to figure out what it might have been. Shaking his head, he pushed the thought out of his head and continued moving.

He started to cross diagonally to the right to an overhang and paused to get his bearings. He had to tap the screen to get the display to settle down as it was jumping and making it hard to read the image. He stayed still and willed it to settle down. It did, and he could see he was almost close to the first bit of bio matter.

Moving to the next logical hidey hole, he peered out into the dark. The lights from the Plass really didn't illuminate the area, so he was left trying to judge between dark and darker shadows. Looking at the PDA screen also didn't help because his eyes had to adjust afterwards. He looked from the screen to the direction it was indicating for the biomass and he turned the device over to let his eyes adjust. Something was there. He moved forward slowly, trying not to jostle and of the debris around him. Rocks skittered down the slight incline and he froze and listened for a long moment. He could hear two of the guards talking and they were joking about guarding a gravesite and how boring the task would be. He wished them all the boredom in the world at the moment as he slid down the gravel incline down another few feet to the area directly in front of him. He had moved a bit to the right as he slid down so he looked at the beam he had used as a reference point to check how far off he was from the item he was looking for. It seemed he had to move a little further to the left. He shifted carefully and crept forward.

Something gleamed in the moonlight. He dropped down to his stomach and crawled forward. He flashed back to the explosion in the old warehouse when the team had been caught by the multiple bombs. Closing his eyes and focusing on the task at hand, he shook himself and inched forward. Just outside of his reach was something. He touched it and almost instantly recoiled. Something wet clung to his hand. Steeling himself, he reached out and touched it, then pulled it towards him. Something flapped and he bit his lip. It was flesh, but it wasn't Jack's. Closing his eyes, he realized he was holding part of the leathery sail of Myfanwy's wing. He rested his head against the rock and silent tears flowed. He gave himself a moment to grieve before he went back to work.

Pulling the PDA up, he scanned the wing and stored the data in the PDA. Then, fighting with the display again, he filtered that bio signature out of his scan and tried again. He got a faint blip off to his right. Peering in that direction, he looked for the next place he could go to continue his search. Getting up onto his knees as quietly as possible, he got his feet under him and moved over to the right. He paused next to the part of a wall and tried to scan again. The signal was a little stronger now and he headed in that direction. Eventually he stopped. In front of him was the heavy metal cog wheel door that had guarded the entrance to the Hub. It was still intact, but it was fairly thick and he couldn't imagine even a blast tearing it to pieces because it was so solid. He rested in its shelter and scanned again. The signal came from off to the side and behind it. He moved carefully around it, aware of the shifting shale around him.

On the other side he saw why the recovery crews had missed this in the search. The back side of the door had rubble up against it. It looked solid, but a scan showed him that it was just a piece of concrete that had settled up against the door. He knelt down and carefully slid in between the concrete and the metal, very aware that any shift in the ground underneath could potentially crush him. He breathed a sigh of relief as he made it to a larger pocket where there was a metal beam that held the area up.

In this darkened corner, he felt safe enough to use the PDA as a torch. He turned it around and shone it on the ground in front of him. Something white gleamed under some rubble and he moved over to lift up a rock. Then he knelt down and started digging. He dug for about five minutes before he was able to clean enough spare around the gleaming white object. It was a bone. More specifically, a human thighbone. Ianto closed his eyes for a moment. It was one thing to go looking for pieces of Jack. It was another to find him. He spent a long moment fighting back tears and again his thoughts went back to that body bag that the MI5 had taken. He reached out a trembling hand and grasped the splintered ends of the bone and pulled it towards him.

There was the sound of a scrape and rocks shifted as the limb began to move towards him. He swallowed convulsively and kept on pulling. The bone resolved to a thigh, then a knee and a calf. He bit his lip when he touched the sock, but he wrapped his hands around the lower part of the extremity and moved it towards him. He had Jack's leg, complete with the boot still on it. Bowing over it for a moment, he let himself come to terms with his grisly find. Then he tucked it behind him and did another scan. He got another flicker of the screen ad he was off, tugging the limb behind him as quietly as he could.

He searched for several hours, findings several bits and pieces, but only took those large enough to matter. In the end, he found the leg, part of an arm and shoulder that the MI5 hadn't found and something else which he didn't take with him. He had to pause for long moments to fight the urge to vomit. No need to leave any evidence to be found. He also unthreaded a rope from one of the scaffolds and used it to tie up what he had found so that he could carry it. He made his way back to where he first entered the site and climbed out of the pit. He had to time his exit in between passes by the guards, but eventually was able to slip out of the debris field and back onto the Plass. Wasting no time, he darted back into the shadows of the Millennium Centre and worked his way around the back. Once out of sight, he sat down behind a bin clutching his grisly possession and allowed himself a short time to breakdown. After a few moments, he pulled himself together. He didn't have a lot of time and the cracked face of his watch showed him that dawn was not too far away. He slipped into the car park, down a side street and made his way over to the docklands where no one would be looking for him. He needed a place to hole up, and a place to store Jack. It was going to be along day ahead while he figured out how to get in touch with his sister and see if he could get some help. He had given her a laptop as a gift several Christmases before to help her with some of that at home work she did to help pay the bills. Neither she nor Johnny ever accepted money from him, so the best he could do was to give it to the kids and to buy them lots of gifts to help them along. This particular gift would be very useful if he could get a hold of it.

He walked paths familiar from many instances of Weevil hunting, looking for a place to hide for the morning, and a place where Jack could be safe while he regenerated. If he could regenerate from the little bit that Ianto had been able to collect. He thought about the rest of the body and wondered if it would also regenerate. His mind balked at the thought of multiple Jacks arising from the dead. Was it even possible? Ianto didn't know, but he knew he couldn't leave what was left of Jack in the rubble of the Torchwood Hub.

He ducked down an alley and after looking around, found himself in an area of abandoned property. Perfect. He worked his way down the street in the dark. No one bothered to fix the streetlights on a street with no tenants. Which worked for him. Ianto finally got to a door and peered through the windows. It looked empty. He jimmied the lock and was able to force his way in. He dragged his package along inside with him and closed the door. He peered around in the dark and tried to get his bearings. Eventually his eyes adjusted to the light and he laughed softly.

He was in an old textile plant. Apparently one that had closed and not been sold off, since most of the stuff was still in place, although covered in dust. Ianto worked his way through the equipment and towards the back, away from the windows. There was a platform and what looked to be a supervisor's office, so he headed for that.

Navigating the stairs in the dark was difficult, but he managed to get up the stairs and down the walkway to the office. He stepped inside and closed the door. Reaching for the wall, he tried the light. Nothing. He wasn't surprised. Probably the power had been shut off before the plant was shut down. Ianto sank down to the floor and felt that he could finally relax. He let his head rest against the wall as he surveyed the bundle in his lap. Jack. He closed his eyes, feeling the sting of tears again, but stopped himself from letting them fall. He had work to do.

Putting the bundle aside, he dragged himself to his feet and looked at his watch. Dawn was almost there. He needed to get a message to his sister. He got up and went to the door. He needed to get that set up before he could rest. Looking at his reflection in window, he saw he wasn't looking too good. He did his best to dust himself off, but he really was a mess. He needed to get going. He went to set his plan in motion to meet his sister. It was a good thing he had money in his wallet, so he could do that. He set off to do what he needed to go before coming back to rest.

~*~


	2. Chapter 2

When Ianto returned, day had dawned, but it was an overcast and cloudy day. It suited his mood. There was enough light to see by in the factory and he was able to grab some batting that was used for the cushions they had made there once and bring it up to the office. It would make a place for him to rest for a few hours until he met his sister, if nothing else. Opening the door to the office, he looked inside and stopped short.

"Christ," he said softly. Jack was regenerating. The thigh was now fully formed and the arm portion that had been cut looked like it was a lot bigger than he remembered. He dropped the batting on the floor, walked over to the bundle and untied it.

"Sorry, Jack," he muttered. He was having a very strange out of body experience and the urge to laugh hysterically overcame him for a few minutes. He was talking to Jack's limbs as if he could be heard. He dropped to his knees and bent over, feeling sick. He couldn't sit there while this happened. He just couldn't watch. He spread out the batting, and then placed the body parts on it to cushion them. As if it would make Jack feel more comfortable. He shook his head. Then he looked around. Time to crash for a bit. He got up and went out into the factory floor. Gathering more batting, he settled down on the floor against one of the larger machines that would shield him if anyone decided to come in while he was asleep and he lay down. He didn't feel comfortable sleeping in the supervisor's office. Not with whatever was going on in there. He shook his head, feeling a headache coming on from lack of sleep and stress. He lay down on the pile of batting and closed his eyes. It was a sign of his utter exhaustion that he was out in a matter of moments…

When he woke several hours later, it was to hear the beeping of his PDA. It was just about dead, and was giving him a low battery warning. He shut it down, as it would do him no good now. He sighed and sat up. He felt terrible. He peered at his watch and saw that he had slept about five hours. He needed to clean up, check on Jack and get to the meeting point and see if his sister was going to help him. He hoped she would. He needed her right now. He pulled off his jacket and shook the dust and dirt out of it. It was ripped in the back where he had snagged the jacket while climbing amongst the wreckage earlier that morning. He sighed and shook his head. He wandered the space and checked the bathrooms. The water was still on. He took full advantage of that, washing up as best he could, though there was no soap or supplies to really do a decent job over it. There were also no medical kits that he could see, so he was only able to daub at the cut on his cheek. He looked at his watch and cursed. He was running out of time to get to where he needed to be.

He checked in on Jack and saw that he had made some progress. Ianto watched in horrified fascination for a moment. While nothing was actively happening in front of him, he could see that there was now the hips forming as well as the beginning of the other leg. Ianto felt his stomach heave and resolutely turned away. He looked at the desk and stared at the whiteboard for a long moment, his hand on the back of his neck as he thought. He needed to leave Jack a message, just in case he didn't get back in time before he revived fully. He rooted about the desk drawers and found a whiteboard marker. It had dried out, but he went to the bathroom and added some water and soon had a faded stream of blue that he could write with. He went back to the office and wrote Jack a note.

_Welcome back, CJH. It's not safe. Stay put until I can come back. I_

He stared at it for a moment and shrugged. His mind couldn't cope with more than that at the moment, and hopefully Jack would pay attention and stay put until he could return. He put his jacket back on, felt he was presentable enough that he wouldn't be immediately noticed and left the factory in search of a playground…

~*~

The events over the rest of the day were a blur, from the meeting with his sister, to the borrowing of her car and laptop, to getting Jack out in relatively one piece. He hadn't thought that he would completely regenerate at the military base until he heard Jack screaming while they filled in the cell with quickcrete, or at least what he assumed was fast drying cement. His mind skittered around the little detail of the other parts of Jack he had left in the textile mill. Would they both be Jack? However would they cope with one than one of him? What would he do? He shook his head as he stared at the building through the field glasses. He'd worry about that later.

He watched as Gwen and Rhys conned their way into the base in a hearse. He knew they weren't going to get Jack out at this point, and he knew he had to come up with an alternative plan. Obviously from the movements of the soldiers, they were onto Gwen. Ianto knew he had to make his move. He crept down the hill and dodged the soldiers who were heading over to the prison barracks. Alarms were going off, which covered any noise he might make. He couldn't' worry about saving Gwen at the moment. She would just have to get herself out of whatever problem she had gotten into. His focus was Jack.

He couldn't say he was really surprised when Gwen and Rhys broke through the hole he had left behind when he had pulled the cell out of the building with the JCB. He had never been so happy about his father making him do that work experience in school at the construction firm as he was at the moment when he had to sit in the thing and get it running. His father had always been pushing him into doing different things that would get him steady work and none of them had been things he had wanted to do. He was thankful for the first time in his life for the skills he had learned though, because it allowed him to not only drive, but operate the JCB and get Jack out of there.

He made his way to the nearby quarry with only one thought in mind – free Jack. When they pulled up in Rhi's car and he saw Jack standing there, he couldn't help but grin in delight. All thoughts of the other Jack back in the warehouse escaped his head as he enthusiastically greeted Jack in the rear seat while Rhys studiously avoided looking in the rearview mirror.

"Where to?" Rhys asked. "Wherever we're going, we're going to have to get far away from here," he said. Helicopters were already overhead and he had driven the car under a grove of trees to get out of their line of sight. Once they had passed, he turned around to the two men who were wrapped in each other's arms in the back seat. He turned away. Best not to look at the moment. Gwen was peering ahead and trying to ignore the sounds from the back seat.

"We need to find out what's going on in London," Gwen said. "That's where we need to be." When there was no comment from the back seat Rhys just shifted gears and took off in that direction. It was as good as any other at the moment and they were halfway there.

It was once they were closer that Ianto gave them the directions for the old Torchwood One warehouse. Jack had fallen asleep with his head on Ianto's shoulder. He had the coat that Rhys had tossed to him earlier draped over him. It was as they were driving through the city streets that Gwen told him to stop and she got out and nicked some clothes hanging on a line that Jack would be able to wear as well as a set of garden shears that they used to pry the manacles off his wrists. By this time, he was awake. Not too thrilled about the choice of clothing, but it made Gwen and Rhys happy to see him clothed, so he wore it.

~*~


	3. Chapter 3

It was later on in the day that Ianto remembered the factory back in Cardiff. He needed to get back there. He also didn't know how he was going to explain it to Jack. Either Jack, if there was another Jack that had regenerated back in the textile plant. He hesitated in the doorway, wondering what he was going to tell this Jack. He was off working on the computer with Gwen, and Ianto didn't feel comfortable talking to him about this in front of Gwen or Rhys. Ianto paused for a moment but decided he had to go back. He took one of the other cars that they had nicked and headed back without telling anyone where he had gone.

The drive back to Cardiff was a nervous one. He kept on looking over his shoulder, despite the tinted windows in the car which meant no one could really see him. He wasn't comfortable driving in the abandoned docklands section since it seemed so obvious, but he may need the car close if he was going to get this second Jack back to London. And then deal with the consequences of having two Jack Harknesses in the world.

He pulled into an alley way next to the building and parked before getting out and going around the side where he had forced the door open once before. He had stopped through the drive through, so had food on hand. Just in case it was needed.

Pushing his way through the door, he listened. It was now night again. Though the factory was empty, he got the shivers. There was a definite sense of presence here. He didn't dare call out. He made his way through the machinery and up the stairs. The sound of his shoes echoed against the metal walkway and he opened the door of the office carefully. The immediate area in front of him was empty.

"Jack?" He whispered. A cough met his whisper and he almost dropped the sack of food in his hand. "Jack?"

"Ia…" again, that cough. "Ianto?" Ianto closed his eyes and let out a breath. He knew that voice anywhere. In fact, had heard it only a few hours before. Ianto reeled at the thought. He pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"It's me," he said. He had brought supplies, so pulled a torch out of his pocket. Aiming it low, he turned it on. On the other side of the office at the far end of the desk, he could see the light reflect off of skin. He didn't want to blind Jack, so aimed the torch against the wall so it would reflect. Looking out into the factory, it didn't look like the light showed much, so he walked closer.

Jack sat naked and shivering in the cold warehouse. He was wrapped in the batting that Ianto had left him, but it really wasn't much cover. Ianto stepped in and knelt down near him.

"Welcome back," he said with a smile. Jack stared at him for a long moment and looked at his face before smiling.

"Is that food I smell?" He croaked. Ianto nodded and pulled out a bottle of water for him which Jack grabbed eagerly. He opened it and drank it down, the water spilling in his eagerness to swallow it all.

"Hey, take it easy. I've got more for you," Ianto promised him. He waited for Jack to slow down before he offered him anything else. Once Jack had slaked his thirst, Ianto pulled a sandwich out of the bag for him and handed it to him. Jack had to force himself to slowly unfold it. Ianto suspected he would have rather have eaten it through the wrapper. He took a bite and closed his eyes as he ate. Ianto smiled. He ate, Ianto feeding him from the bag and adding another bottle of water before he was finally satisfied.

"What's been happening?" Jack finally asked him. He looked at Ianto for a long moment. Ianto hadn't made any move to get closer to him and he wondered if his revival had unnerved his lover.

"A lot," Ianto admitted. He moved back over to the door and picked up a bag he had dropped. "I got you some clothes." He brought them over to where Jack was huddled up and knelt down again.

"Ianto, is everything okay?" Jack finally asked him. Ianto nodded. He bit his lip. This was his Jack, too. He was torn by indecision. He stared at the man before him. They were identical. Completely identical. He could see the confusion in Jack's eyes that he hadn't come closer and he finally made the decision to just comfort the Jack that was here before him. He opened his arms and Jack got up onto his knees and leaned into Ianto's embrace. He could feel Jack trembling in his arms and he held him tight. Jack rested his head on Ianto's shoulder and just waited for a long moment as he registered Ianto's arms hugging him. Slowly his own arms crept around Ianto and he clung to him for a long moment. He didn't want to relive any of what had happened, but he knew he needed to get some answers.

He pulled back and peered at Ianto in the face. He waited for him to make the next move. Something still felt off. Out of kilter, and he didn't know what it was. Ianto stared into his eyes for a long moment before reaching up to cup his face and he kissed him. Jack relaxed. There was nothing tentative about the kiss that Ianto had just given him. He smiled at the younger man as Ianto pulled back and looked at him.

"What's wrong?" Jack finally asked. Ianto shook his head ruefully and chuckled.

"What isn't wrong is more the question," he said softly. He sat back on his heels and opened the bag. "Get dressed, you're freezing," he said. He had another package from the shopping trip earlier, and he had deliberately bought different clothes. It would be the only way he was going to identify the two different Jacks later on. He did, however, buy a second coat. He wouldn't resist doing that. Jack gave a delighted chuckle that Ianto had been able to find him another coat. Ianto couldn't help but grin at Jack's enthusiasm.

They stayed where they were, since it seemed safest to lay low and out of sight. Once Jack was finished dressing, he leaned back against the wall of the office and looked at Ianto, who was propped up against the wall opposite.

"So," Jack said with a smile. The smile faltered as he took in how battered Ianto looked. He had changed his clothes, but he still looked the worse for wear. Jack reached out and touched the cheek with the cut and Ianto winced away. "Did that happen when the bomb went off?"

"Yeah," Ianto said softly. "When you blew up." He met Jack's gaze steadily.

"Where's Gwen?" Jack asked.

"She's in London. She's…" Ianto looked down for a moment before continuing. "She's waiting for us."

"You left her there by herself?" Jack asked him. He shook his head. "Did she get Rhys away?" Ianto nodded. "Good." He reached out and grabbed Ianto's hand. "I'm glad you're both safe."

"So am I," Ianto said. He went on to explain what they knew so far, which wasn't much. Jack didn't question anything as he waited for Ianto to finish the story. When he finally stopped talking, Jack sat for a bit and thought about everything that was going on. Then he looked at Ianto.

"What haven't you told me yet?" He asked Ianto. Ianto looked down at his hands and hesitated. He wasn't sure how he was going to do this one. Jack waited for a few moments and when Ianto didn't seem to want to continue he finally had to say something. "Ianto, please. It has to be something I need to know. Whatever it is, you can tell me. Really." Ianto looked up at him for a long moment and finally nodded.

"Jack, what do you remember about the bomb?" He finally asked.

"That it's an experience I don't want to repeat anytime soon," Jack responded. He smiled tentatively, but when Ianto didn't respond in kind, he stopped. Ianto sat, waiting for him to continue. "All right, I remember you going up the lift just as the Hub was shutting down. Then, well, let's just say it was rather painful having your midsection explode," he said. Ianto was looking at him carefully, eyes moving over him. "What is it?"

Ianto sighed. "When you blew up, it took out the main level of the Hub. The lockdown prevented any damage or access to the lower vaults, but everything else is gone." Jack nodded. He knew how much that had to bother Ianto. Still, the fact that any of it survived was good. It meant that they could rebuild at some point. Once he had straightened out the mess of whoever was trying to kill them in the first place.

"What else?" Jack prompted. Ianto seemed to be hesitating. He looked down at his watch and shook his head before looking up at Jack again.

"The MI5 swarmed the site," Ianto began. "They were looking for stuff."

"Looking for artifacts?" Jack hazarded. Ianto shook his head. "No? Then what?"

"They were looking for you," Ianto said softly. Jack looked startled. "They obviously know about your immortality. Not that it would be possible to hide that fact, having the same person working for the same organization for so long," Ianto said reflective tone. He shook himself and continued. "So they were searching the rubble for your body."

"Good thing you got there first," Jack said. Ianto shook his head. "You didn't get there first? But how…"

"That's what I need to tell you," Ianto said. It was time to tell him. "They found parts of your body and took those off to a military base. But they only found part of your torso and head. They couldn't find the rest." Jack winced.

"Ouch. So how did you get me out of there?" Jack asked him. Ianto hesitated.

"It wasn't easy," he admitted. "Rhys and Gwen helped."

"So why are we here and not with them?" Jack asked. Ianto looked down again. Jack was getting frustrated with Ianto's reluctance to just come out and tell him what was wrong. "Ianto, you're killing me here. Tell me."

"I went back to the Plass and watched what they were doing," Ianto started. He told him the sequence of events and how he went through the rubble and searched for the rest of his body parts. Jack stared at him while he spoke. When Ianto trailed off after saying he left him here to recover on his own, Jack waited a beat for him to continue. He didn't, but just stared at the floor.

"Thank you for doing that," Jack finally said. "I know how hard that must have been for you." Ianto nodded, but said nothing. "But it still doesn't explain why we're here."

Ianto sighed heavily and finally looked up. "God, this is difficult," he muttered. Jack just stared at him steadily, willing for him to say whatever it was he still needed to say. Ianto stared at him, and then finally opened his mouth.

"You regenerated from the parts I found in the Hub," he said. Jack nodded. "The parts which are separate from the ones the MI5 took to their base."

Jack heard the words, but it took a moment for them to register. "Did I just hear what I thought I just heard you say?" He asked. Ianto nodded. "There are two of me right now?" Ianto nodded again and Jack leaned back against the wall with a thump. "Holy shit."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Ianto said. He watched Jack's reaction carefully. "I don't know how, and I especially can't figure out the fact that you have all the same memories, since well, you didn't have a head to start with," he said with a bit of that hysteria he felt earlier when Jack had started regenerating before. "But it happened, and now - yes, there are two of you."

Jack started laughing and Ianto grew a bit concerned, but he didn't say anything. He could only imagine what was going through Jack's head at the moment. He waited for Jack's laughter to subside and after a few minutes Jack sobered up. He looked at Ianto.

"This must be confusing the hell out of you," he said eventually. Ianto smiled wryly at him. "Shit, I wish I could talk to the Doctor right now. If he thought I was wrong before, he'd be really ticked off now!" Jack let a last bit of mirth bubble over for a moment before he took a breath and sighed. "Boy, you weren't kidding when you said this was complicated." He rubbed his hand through his hair. "Wow."

"Yeah," Ianto said. The flashlight started to flicker and he looked over at it. "Batteries are going."

"Turn it off," Jack said. Ianto reached over and did so, plunging them into darkness. They sat without talking for a long moment. "How are you holding up in all of this?" He finally asked Ianto.

"Been better," Ianto admitted. "And no, they don't know. I wasn't even sure if you were going to come back all the way, which is why I came back to see. Now that you have, I guess we go to London and deal with it."

"Where are they hiding out in London?" Jack asked.

"An old Torchwood One holding facility down by the train yards," Ianto said. "Right now, they're tying into the offsite mainframe and trying to figure out what's going on."

"So we still don't know who's at the bottom of this," Jack said. Ianto didn't reply. "Damn. We need information."

"We're getting it," Ianto told him. "But someone definitely wanted us down and out of the way," he continued. "With the MI5 involved, you know the Home Office has to be part of this. As well as Downing Street. Possibly UNIT, as well. This is too big for them not to be involved."

"Damn," Jack repeated softly. "So do we head to London?" He asked the other man.

"Should do, yeah," Ianto said. "I'm going to have to explain this to the others."

"Yeah, this is going to be fun," Jack stated. Ianto began to chuckle and a smile tugged on Jack's face in response. "If it were easy, it wouldn't be Torchwood, you know."

"Yeah, was just thinking that myself," Ianto said. Jack could hear him moving as he stood up. A moment later Jack felt Ianto's hand brush his head. "Let me help you up." Jack took the proffered hand and let Ianto pull him up. He could hear Ianto breathing, he was so close.

"So where does this leave us?" Jack wondered. Ianto sighed.

"Damn good question," Ianto responded. Jack reached out in the dark and found his hand.

"Ianto, I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Not your fault," Ianto said automatically. He hesitated a moment before pulling Jack into his embrace. Jack leaned into him and closed his eyes. A moment later, he felt fingers running through his hair. "It's not your fault."

"Somehow, I feel like it is in some way," Jack admitted. He laid his head on Ianto's shoulder and just absorbed Ianto's warmth, smell and touch. Ianto continued to stroke him, rubbing his back and neck as they embraced. After a long moment, Jack brought his head up so he could speak.

"You know what the Doctor said to me the last time I saw him?" Jack asked, not really expecting an answer. "He told me I was wrong. That it actually hurt to look at me, because to a Time Lord, being what I am was an abomination." Ianto closed his eyes as he heard the dark note of despair in Jack's voice and he hugged him tighter.

"You are not wrong," Ianto told him fiercely. "What happened wasn't your fault. If anything, it was his," Ianto said. "Don't ever think that about yourself." He pulled Jack's head onto his shoulder and held him close. "I'm so sorry Jack. You've had one hell of a time, haven't you?" Jack nodded but didn't say anything.

"What now?" He finally asked. Ianto rubbed his cheek against Jack's.

"We head to London. I have a car outside, so we can get there easily enough. Then I talk to the others. And you get to meet your other self," he said. "God, could this get any more difficult?"

"Only if there's another me growing somewhere back in the old Hub," Jack commented. He heard Ianto stifle a slightly hysterical giggle. "Wouldn't that be a bit of a mess!"

"I don't think that will be possible," Ianto responded once he had calmed down. "When I did the search, I found everything that I could scan with my PDA. Anything else was too small to really take. One would assume you need a certain critical mass."

"Hmmm, possibly," Jack said with a nod. He loosened his hold on Ianto. "We good?"

"Yeah, we're good," Ianto confirmed. He reached up and pulled Jack's face in his direction and gave him a long kiss. "Missed you."

"Me, too," Jack responded. Ianto stepped back but kept a hold of his hand. Reaching down, he picked up the torch and turned it on. Though considerably dimmer, it provided enough light for them to see by so they could get out of the factory. Ianto led the way, bringing Jack around the abandoned equipment and to the door. He shut off the torch and peered out the window, looking to see if anyone was about. No one seemed to be about. He carefully opened the door and stuck his head out. Nothing. He welcomed the quiet of the abandoned area, since it meant no one was around to see them. Still holding Jack's hand, he tugged him out the door and let it swing shut behind them. Then he led the way to the car and motioned for Jack to get into the passenger seat. Moving around to the other side, he got in and started the car.

"Where'd you get this?" Jack asked as he looked around. There was obviously stuff in the back seat. Toys and stuff. "Your sister?"

"No," Ianto said. "Gwen led us on a crime spree," he informed Jack as he shifted the car into gear and began driving. He then explained what they had done earlier. Jack chuckled.

"Good to know we can be resourceful," he said. He watched as Ianto drove at a slow pace so as not to garner any attention. He was headed out of the city to the motorway towards London. He asked Ianto other questions about what had been going on, and Ianto explained what he knew. Soon they were on the M4 and had picked up speed. Ianto kept with the flow of traffic and keeping well under the speed limit. Even still, they made good time.


	4. Chapter 4

Ianto kept on wondering what he was going to say once he got to the other end. If it was that difficult to tell this Jack what had happened, how the hell was he going to explain it all to the other Jack, as well as Gwen and Rhys? He sighed and Jack looked over at him.

"What's bothering you?" Jack asked. Ianto glanced over at him and then back at the road. "Come on, Ianto." Jack coaxed. "It's me here."

"Yeah, that's the problem," Ianto said. Jack gave him a quizzical look. "It's you here and it's you there," he continued, indicating the direction they were headed with his chin. Jack suddenly understood what was going on in his mind.

"Trying to figure out how you're going to tell them?" Jack guessed. Ianto nodded. Jack was quiet for a few minutes as Ianto continued driving. "Well, they should be used to the unexpected."

"Yeah, but even for us, this is a little beyond normal," Ianto commented. Jack chuckled and Ianto couldn't help smiling.

"So, what are the issues as you perceive them?" Jack asked. "Let's hash them out here and it will help you come up with some solutions." He was intrigued by what Ianto thought the problems might be. Obviously, these were beyond the whole alien possession of the children and government issues that they still had yet to solve.

"Well, the first and immediate one I can think of is which one of you is going to be in charge," Ianto admitted. Even getting past the whole telling them part, there were a few logistical issues that he could foresee as problems.

"Yeah, well, who has to say one of us has to be in charge?" Jack asked. Ianto barked out a sudden laugh and Jack grinned. "Okay, stupid question." Jack thought for a moment. "I like to think of myself as a reasonable man. I'm sure I can come up with a compromise with myself." Ianto started laughing and Jack turned to look at him. "What?"

"I just had this mental image of you arguing with yourself and neither of you winning," Ianto admitted. Jack grinned. "Then I thought how weird that would be to watch, as well."

"Well, I think I can work that one out, even if you don't want to watch." Jack said lightly. "Though, if you did want to watch, we could have a lot of fun." Ianto rolled his eyes and looked away with a slight flush. Jack looked at him intently for a long moment. "Ah."

Ianto shot a quick glance at him before turning his attention away to the road again. "What's that for?"

"That's your other problem, isn't it?" Jack asked astutely. Ianto studiously kept his eyes on the road and said nothing. "What do you personally do with two of us?" Ianto remained quiet. Jack looked at him. Ianto leaned his elbow on the car door and rested his chin in his hand, his fingers covering his mouth in an obvious attempt to shield his reactions from Jack's intent gaze. "Damn, that's going to be the bigger problem, isn't it?" Ianto just kept driving. Jack watched him, his eyes taking in the nervous drumming of Ianto's fingers on the steering wheel. "You now have two of me to deal with."

Ianto glanced in the rearview mirror and changed lanes. He sped up, using the passing lane to go past a slower lorry. He was hyperaware of Jack's gaze on him and it made him want to twitch. Finally, he knew he had to respond. "Yes," he said quietly. "What's your answer to that?"

"Well, the 51st century man in me asks why is this a problem? You get two for the price of one, what more could a man want?" Jack said lightly. Ianto shook his head, but didn't comment in reply. "But the man who's been living in the 21st century jealously wants you to be only with me, and to ignore the other Jack. Who, of course, will think the same thing." Jack looked out the window at the landscape as he thought. "You could decide to be with only one of us."

"And how do I do that, when you are both Jack?" Ianto asked softly. "I will respond to either of you the same way. I can't help it." He sighed. "Never mind the other issue which is as time goes by, you will have different experiences from one another, which will change you. And if I'm involved with both of you, even on just a work front, how the hell do I keep either of you straight?" He shook his head. "This is complicated."

"Yeah, it is," Jack acknowledged. He reached over and touched Ianto's leg. "I can leave you with the other Jack," he said. Both his touch and his comment garnered a startled glance from Ianto. "I mean once this is all done with. Just go somewhere else."

"Would you really do that?" Ianto asked him. He glanced at Jack and saw that Jack was taking this seriously. "Could you do that?"

"Honestly?" Jack responded. "I don't know. But Ianto, I don't want to cause and problems for you. And this is certainly a problem. I can see that. It puts you in a very awkward place." He thought for a few minutes as the trees sped by outside the window. "I don't want to hurt you."

Ianto smiled. He put his right hand back on the steering wheel and lowered his left so that it rested on Jack's hand which was still touching him. He threaded his fingers through Jack's and squeezed him lightly. "Thank you, Jack. But let's wait and see what happens. We don't have a clue what's going on here, so worrying about what happens to us and which us, may be a bit premature." He stared at the road. The two men were quiet for a long time. The road signs signaled that they were approaching the outskirts of London and Jack looked around curiously.

"Well, if nothing else, we could try to have one hell of a threesome," he finally ventured. Ianto started laughing and he shook his head.

"I'm not sure that would be a good thing," he finally said. Jack frowned at him.

"Why not?" He asked.

"Because," Ianto said. "You might like sleeping with yourself better than you like doing me," he said with a sly glance. Jack started laughing.

"Ah, you'd get jealous! I knew it! I just knew it!" He crowed. Ianto removed his hand as he shifted to a lower gear as they entered the city limits. The two kept on bantering back and forth, with Jack making more and more outrageous comments as Ianto drove through the city streets towards their final destination. That lasted until they got to the industrial area where the warehouse was located. Ianto was getting more nervous the closer they got to their destination, and Jack finally stopped talking when he realized how tense Ianto had become. Finally, they entered the industrial park and Ianto cautiously drove to their warehouse, looking around to make sure that they hadn't picked up a tail on the way from Cardiff. After some driving around, he was sure that they hadn't, so he headed off in the direction of the Torchwood One warehouse. He pulled up in an alleyway between their building and the one next door.

"Can you wait here until I go inside and tell them?" He asked, turning towards Jack. Jack looked at him seriously for a long moment and nodded. Ianto smiled at him. "Well, here goes nothing," he said. Jack nodded again. "Thanks."

Ianto disconnected his seat belt and sat for a moment. Then sighing, he opened the car door. "Watch that door over there. I'll come out to get you once I've talked to them."

"Sure it wouldn't just be easier for me to walk in with you?" Jack asked. Ianto shook his head.

"No, they're jumpy enough as it is, and they've probably wondered where I've been all afternoon and evening," Ianto said. "The last time I went out, they thought I had gotten captured. Let me just go in alone." Jack nodded his acquiescence and Ianto smiled at him. "Thank you." He paused in the act of getting out of the car. Turning to look at Jack he leaned across the seat and kissed him. Jack smiled at him. "Be back in a bit."


	5. Chapter 5

Getting out of the car, he shut the door. Squaring his shoulders, he made his way across the short distance to the warehouse and opened the door. Walking in, he could see that they had gotten several tables set up with work lights and the computer equipment that they had stolen or purchased spread out. Gwen turned at the sound of the door opening.

"Finally!" She exclaimed. "Where the hell have you been? We've been worried sick!" Ianto moved quickly in her direction, forestalling her own movement towards him. "What happened?"

"There was something I had to do," Ianto said. "Sorry I didn't get a chance to warn you, but it was a bit sudden. I didn't mean to worry you." He saw Jack look up, the worry evident on his face. Rhys came over from where he had been putting together a makeshift stove out of some abandoned oil drums that had been left behind.

Gwen stood with her hands on her hips. "So? Where were you?" Ianto sat down on one of the empty computer chairs that they had bought and he sighed.

"Cardiff," he said. She looked startled.

"Why did you go back there?" She asked. Jack stopped what he was doing and turned to pay his whole attention to Ianto. Rhys pulled up a stool and sat down.

"Because I had to," Ianto said. He looked at each of them in turn. "It's complicated." His gaze landed at Jack and he stared at him for a long moment. Jack matched his gaze and nodded.

"It always is," he commented quietly. Gwen opened her mouth to say something and he held up his hand to stop her. "Gwen, let the man speak." She subsided and sat in a chair, but clearly she wasn't happy. "Go ahead, Ianto."

Ianto swept another glance at them before beginning. "I need to give you some back story first," he started, then braced himself. "As you know, after the bomb went off at the Hub, I went back to see what was going on, and if I could figure out what had happened." Each of the three nodded, but didn't say anything. They waited for him to continue. Taking a deep breath, he did so. "As I told you earlier, I watched as they picked up your remains Jack, and carted them off to the military base." Jack nodded. "What I didn't tell you was what I did in between the time of watching that and when I helped get you out of prison."

Gwen frowned. "What do you mean, what you did?" Rhys shushed her and she frowned at him before turning back to Ianto. "What do you mean? What did you do?" Ianto looked at her and sighed.

"I didn't leave the Plass when I saw the military ambulance leave the site," he said. "I stayed on the building until everyone left, and then went into the site to see what other remains there were." The three were quiet as they waited for him to continue. "I had my PDA with our bio signatures and used that to track the remains that the MI5 didn't find."

Jack was staring at him intently. Clearly, Ianto was uncomfortable with what he was telling them. Jack wasn't sure why, but he intended to draw Ianto out enough to tell them what he needed to say. "And you found some." Ianto looked up at him and nodded.

"Yes," he said after a moment. "I found most of your right leg, as well as part of your left arm and shoulder." He kept his gaze on Jack, speaking directly to him. "I pulled them out of the wreckage and found an abandoned factory that I hid in overnight. I fell asleep for a while, and when I woke, I found that the limbs were regenerating." Jack stared at him, a look of comprehension and what might have been horror starting to form on his face. Ianto quickly glanced at Gwen but saw that she hadn't caught on as quickly as Jack had. "I had to go meet my sister, as I set up a meeting with her so I could get her laptop," he continued.

"Well, you all know what happened after that at the military base." They nodded. "It was only after that, once I had some time to sit down and think that I realized that I had unfinished business back in Cardiff.

"What?" Gwen asked. She still hadn't made the connection. Jack was still staring at him, waiting for him to confirm what he already knew. Ianto's lips compressed to a thin line as he glanced from Jack to Gwen and back again.

"The fact that Jack didn't just regenerate from the parts the military had scavenged from the blast site," he finally said. Gwen blinked at him and opened her mouth, but Jack interrupted.

"There's another me that regenerated?" He asked Ianto. Ianto nodded. Gwen gasped and Rhys just sat there with his mouth hanging open. "And it's really me?"

"Yeah," Ianto said, meeting Jack's gaze. "Completely another you." Jack was stunned. "Right down to the same memories up until the bomb went off."

"But how?" Gwen asked. She had a wild look in her eyes as she tried to comprehend what Ianto had just told them. "How is that possible?"

"It was the TARDIS," Jack murmured. "The heart gave me life again, through Rose. All of my cells regenerate themselves." He looked at Ianto, who nodded. "So you went to Cardiff."

"Yes." Ianto said.

"To check on the other Jack," his boss and lover continued. Ianto nodded. "And you found him."

"Yes," Ianto replied. Gwen was incapable of speech as she watched their conversation.

"Alive," Jack said. Ianto nodded. Jack waited for a bit before speaking again. "Holy, shit."

"Funny, that's what your other self said," Ianto said with a wry smile on his face.

"Wait a minute," Gwen said as she finally gathered her thoughts together. "You spoke with him?" Ianto looked at her and nodded. "You actually spoke with him?" She repeated.

"Yes," Ianto said. "He is as real as Jack is here in front of us."

"Two Jacks?" Rhys finally said. "Are you honestly saying that there are two of him?" Ianto nodded. "Wow."

"And where is he now?" Gwen asked. "This… this other Jack?"

"Outside in the car, waiting for me to tell him to come in," Ianto said in a quiet voice. Jack sat back and let out an explosive sigh. "I thought it best to tell you first."

"Another Jack," Gwen echoed. She looked at each of the men. "I don't believe it." Ianto said nothing.

"Well, guess we better get introduced," Jack said. He stood up. "Shall I go get him?" Ianto stood up.

"No, let me do it. He's expecting me," he said. He looked at Jack who sat back down again before standing and moving around nervously.

"Okay, go get him," Jack said. He looked away from Ianto and back again, worry clearly shown on his face. Ianto nodded and turned away towards the door. He opened it and peered outside. Jack was still in the car, and Ianto motioned for him to come in.

Getting out of the car, Jack walked over to the doorway, his coat swinging around his heels. He looked nervous. Ianto closed the door behind him so that they could have a moment alone. Jack smiled tentatively at him.

"How did it go?" He asked.

"Well, as you can imagine, they're a bit shocked," Ianto said. He smiled at the understatement he had just made. "But they're ready for you to come inside." He glanced down at the coat Jack was wearing and smiled. "Ready?"

Jack squared his shoulders and nodded. Ianto opened the door and held it open so that Jack could walk in first. Jack smiled and walked through the doorway, Ianto following behind. He closed the door. Jack had stopped just inside the entrance. There he stared at the three people halfway across the room.

Gwen sat with her hand over her mouth as she glanced from one Jack to the other. Rhys just sat in astonishment. The first Jack just nodded.

"This is so weird," he said.

"Tell me about it," the second Jack said. Ianto waited until he started walking over to the other one, and then followed behind, his hands in his pockets. The two Jack Harknesses stood in front of one another and stared intently at each other. Gwen just kept on glancing from one to the other and then back again.

"I think we need to have a talk," the first Jack said. His nod was mirrored by his doppelganger. Jack looked at Gwen. "We'll be back," he said. He stepped away from the second Jack and indicated a direction away from the group. The second Jack nodded and began walking. First Jack fell in besides him and the two versions of Jack walked across the empty expanse of the warehouse and through an open door.

"What the hell just happened?" Rhys finally spoke. Gwen was still staring after the two Jack Harknesses.

"I think Jack needs to come to terms with himself," Ianto said with a smile. He knew that the Cardiff Jack would probably voice the concerns they had talked about in the car. He sat down in the chair and sighed. "It may be a long conversation."


	6. Chapter 6

"Ianto, how is this even possible?" Gwen asked in a dazed voice. "How can there be two Jacks?" She turned her large eyes in his direction and he looked at her. He had had more time to get used to the whole thing, so he could well understand her shock.

"Well, you know that Jack was made immortal by the Doctor's companion, Rose, right?" She nodded, but he saw that Rhys looked confused. Ianto explained what had happened before they met Jack, and that in reviving Jack, Rose had inadvertently made him immortal as well.

"That's why he can't die," Ianto concluded. "He says he's a fixed point in time, whatever that means. And that it's forever." Rhys slowly nodded as he tried to process what Ianto had been telling him.

"So he'll live forever?" Rhys said. "As in, until the end of time forever?" Ianto nodded.

"Actually, he's already seen the end of time," Ianto said. Rhys looked confused. "Long story," he said. He looked off in the direction where the two Jacks had gone and wondered how that conversation was going.

"So what do we do with two of him?" Gwen asked. Ianto shrugged. She thought about it for a moment and noticed the direction of Ianto's gaze. She looked at the doorway, then back at him. Meeting his gaze, she understood the other ramifications of there being two Jacks. Her mouth opened to a silent "O." Ianto looked away, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

"Well, this is a good thing, yeah?" Rhys asked. "Gives us more help in fighting whatever is going on."

"True," Ianto said. "It does." Gwen was still staring thoughtfully at him and he felt himself squirm uncomfortably. He turned towards the computer, looking for something to do.

"Any progress on getting information?" He asked. His question helped change their attention on what was going on, and Rhys and Gwen got him up to date on what they had found out. Gwen went through her meeting with Lois and asking her to wear the contacts so they could see what was going on.

"Oh, good idea," Ianto said. It was a good idea. Right now, they didn't have a clue as to what was happening, nor who was responsible for trying to wipe them out. The three discussed that, and why the Home Office would want them eliminated when they were the very people who could help with what was going on. It was in the midst of this discussion that the two Jacks emerged from the other end of the warehouse. Ianto heard a noise behind him and turned around. From their identical expressions, it looked like they had reached some sort of agreement. The two Jacks made their way across to where they were working. First Jack (wearing the military surplus outfit Ianto had bought him the day before) took the spare seat while Second Jack stood behind him.

"All right, you probably wondered what we decided," First Jack said. Ianto raised an eyebrow and Jack smiled at him. He looked at Ianto and nodded minutely. Ianto relaxed a little bit, knowing that his fears had been discussed and that between the two of them, they had come to some sort of decision. A portion of his mind wanted to just go off alone with each of them to talk. Another portion considered Second Jack's idea of a threesome a bit more seriously than when it had been originally proposed in the car. Ianto felt warm at the thought before pushing it away.

"And what have you two decided?" Gwen asked. She thought it was uncanny, seeing them together like that. It felt so surreal, she shivered and Rhys put his hands on her shoulders and began rubbing them in a reassuring manner.

"That we need to solve the mystery of who did this, and why," Second Jack said. Seated, First Jack nodded. "Then we need to stop whatever it is and deal with that. Afterwards we can figure out what we'll do over the long term." They nodded in agreement at the same time and Ianto smiled. He wondered if eventually they would begin to differ as different experiences changed them. It would be interesting to watch, he decided.

They got to work trying to figure out what was going on. Gwen told them that she had met with Lois and hopefully she would wear the contacts.

"Good girl," Second Jack said and Gwen looked startled before looking at First Jack who grinned at her. She shook her head. Ianto was doing a search trying to find anything useful. He found the information on Clem and that he had been arrested. That got Gwen moving and she headed out to find him. Rhys was torn between going with her and staying behind, and she convinced him to stay behind.

Second Jack came over and looked over Ianto's shoulder. Without thinking, he put his hand on Ianto's shoulder and leaned closer. First Jack looked over and saw their positions and frowned. Already things were getting complicated and he resolutely turned away. Whatever happened with either of them was up to Ianto at this point. It was the one thing he hadn't been able to agree with when talking to his other self. He stared at the screen without seeing it. He thought back to the conversation they had had earlier and how his other self had told him about the conversation in the car. He knew how confusing it probably was to Ianto, but he also was feeling incredibly jealous at the moment. He got up and walked away, muttering something to Rhys about going for a walk.

Ianto looked up as he passed, and he watched as Jack walked out the door. He sighed and Second Jack removed his hand.

"Sorry," he whispered. Ianto shook his head and didn't say anything. He kept on doing his search, trying to find out any information that might prove useful. Second Jack stuck his hands in his pockets and started wandering around. He couldn't focus on working at the moment as he worried more about how they were going to deal with this whole relationship thing. When he saw his other self coming back in the door, he headed off to the far end of the warehouse to give First Jack some time if he wanted to spend it with Ianto. He couldn't fault the feeling of jealousy that he knew his other self felt, after all.

First Jack stopped and looked around. He couldn't see his doppelganger, just Ianto typing away and staring at the screen and Rhys, who was busy putting a meal together on the stove he had built. Jack sat down with a sigh.

Second Jack kicked around the back part of the warehouse, trying to convince himself to give up Ianto for the sake of the other Jack and Ianto's happiness. He was having a hard time convincing himself that it was the right thing to do. He sat down on an old table and kicked his feet. He could hear the murmur of voices from the other end of the warehouse, but the words were unintelligible. He knew that they needed to solve this issue with Frobisher and the government before worrying about such petty stuff, but he couldn't help himself.

He heard Ianto call out and he turned and looked. Heading out the door was Jack, obviously on a mission. He sighed and turned away. Obviously his other self was better at concentrating on the task at hand than he was. He decided to stay where he was and leave Ianto alone. Ianto was getting stuck in the middle at the moment, and Jack didn't want him to get hurt. So instead, he sulked at the far end of the warehouse.


	7. Chapter 7

After a while, Second Jack decided a walk was in order, so he snuck out the back and wandered the train yard, taking care to keep out of sight so he didn't get caught. It was well into the evening when he was coming back that he heard a gun firing and he broke out into a run. The closest entrance was the back way, so he headed for that door and slipped in the back. His fingers itched for his Webley and he grimaced. He didn't have a gun with him at the moment. Had someone found them? He cursed silently and made his way through the empty warehouse until he got to where the team was.

Gwen was standing in front of an older man who looked vaguely familiar. Rhys was standing off to one side, holding the gun butt, the muzzle facing down. Jack blinked. Across from them, Ianto knelt on the floor with First Jack in his arms. Gwen was talking to the older man and it took a few moments before Jack remembered who he was. The old man from the institution. From the way Rhys was moving away from them with the gun, it was obviously that man who had shot his other self. He hung back and waited to see what was going on.

It was unnerving watching his other self revive. He had never seen it happen before, oddly enough. It was like looking in a mirror. First Jack clutched at Ianto, who held him tight and soothed him as he revived. Second Jack felt a pang of jealousy and understood how his other self felt earlier when he had probably seen him touching Ianto. He took a deep breath and listened as Gwen reassured the old man about Jack. The man was still freaked out and ran off. First he headed towards Second Jack and then veered away as if he knew that Jack was back there, watching. Gwen ran after him. Jack watched them go and then turned back to where Ianto still knelt with Jack in his arms. Rhys just sat down on a stool, stunned by the events. Second Jack held back, unsure of how to enter the situation.

Eventually Gwen came back with the man in tow and by this time, Ianto had helped First Jack up again. They talked and Second Jack strained to hear the conversation. It was then that he realized who the man was, and why he had shot – well, him.

Clem was staring wildly about, muttering about him being everywhere. Gwen tried to soothe him, but it was obvious that he sensed the other presence. He kept looking off into the darkness, muttering that he was there again. Eventually, Jack didn't see any point in skulking around and so he walked from the shadows. He scared the wits out of Clem who moaned when he saw him in two places.

That necessitated an explanation as to how there were two Jacks, and Clem just shuddered and wrapped his arms around his head, not wanting to hear how it could be. First Jack was sitting off to one side, stunned by the turn of events. Ianto had gotten up and moved away after Jack had stood up and told his story. It was obvious how upset he and Gwen were by the story he told from 1965. They were having a hard time comprehending how he could have done that. Second Jack understood, though.

His attention was drawn to the audio coming from the laptop, and he looked at the screen. Ianto had turned to the screen as well, and was paying attention to what was going on there while Gwen reassured Clem and led him off somewhere to calm him down. Second Jack moved closer, and First Jack looked up as he walked into the area. They stared at one another, hopelessness reflecting in each other's eyes. Second Jack frowned. His other self knew something that he didn't.

"What?" He asked softly. First Jack hesitated a long moment.

"They took Alice and Steven," he said in a low voice. Second Jack closed his eyes in response. He nodded. Nothing more needed to be said. He turned to look at the scene unfolding on the laptop.

"We need to get in there," he said. First Jack nodded. They turned as one to look at the screen. Frobisher was walking away, the negotiations on hold now that the 456 had made their demand known. Ianto bowed his head as Lois left the room with the rest of the group and she left the Thames House.

Gwen came back after settling Clem somewhere else, away from the Jacks. Rhys wrapped his arms around her and she held him tight, her face pressed into his chest. After a while she pulled back and turned towards the two Jacks. Then she turned away, going with Rhys off somewhere to sleep. That left them alone with Ianto.

Second Jack glanced speculatively at Ianto and then back to First Jack. His other self looked to be still dealing with having been shot as well as the awkward revelations from the past. Second Jack turned back to Ianto, who sat in the chair in front of the blank laptop. Lois had taken out the contacts. He walked over to stand behind Ianto.

"I don't get it," Ianto finally said, feeling him right behind him. "Why?" He asked softly. Second Jack bowed his head while First Jack got up and walked away, hands in the pocket of his great coat as he walked away with his own head bowed.

"I didn't have a choice," Second Jack told him. Ianto shook his head. He wasn't buying it. "Look, we didn't have the technology we have today. They were threatening us and we didn't have a way to fight them."

"And so you sent innocents off to a fate unknown," Ianto said. "To aliens."

"Yeah," Jack acknowledged. Ianto could hear the pain in his voice and knew that he was torn up about it. How many other things had he done in the past that he buried deep inside because he didn't want to remember what he did? Ianto wondered. He knew that a lot of it went back to his brother as well. That from that point on, Jack had always blamed himself for any event that went poorly. Intellectually, Ianto knew that Jack had been a soldier following orders, but he also knew that he had a problem with Jack just doing that unquestioningly. He felt so conflicted inside about it. He stood up and turned to face Jack. The misery in Jack's eyes stopped him cold for a moment.

Ianto opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't voice anything. His mind refused to focus. He turned away and walked a few feet to get some distance. Second Jack turned away. He really couldn't blame Ianto's reaction. Or the look on his face. The pain in his eyes. The same pain he saw in the mirror when he forced himself to look. He sighed heavily and walked away, hands in his pockets. He needed some time alone.


	8. Chapter 8

When Second Jack came back into the warehouse, he could see Gwen and Rhys huddled under a blanket. They were both asleep and the sound of Rhys' snores echoed in the cavernous room. Jack stared at the way Gwen was curled up against Rhys, her hair hiding her face. Off to the side, another bundle was wrapped up in a surplus army blanket and from the white hair he figured it was Clem. His eyes scanned the area, but there was no sign of Ianto. Or the other Jack. Second Jack got an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach. Had Ianto gone off with the other Jack somewhere? Somehow, he didn't think so. Not after seeing the look in Ianto's eyes earlier. He felt ashamed that he had caused that reaction in his lover. No, Ianto wasn't with the other Jack, but off somewhere else in the warehouse. Jack needed to find him. He had been wandering most of the night, trying to think of a way that he could explain why he had did what he did in the past. It wasn't going to be a comfortable conversation, but self-examination never was.

He picked his way through the abandoned bits of furniture that had been left behind, peering around and trying to see where Ianto may have gone. He had worked his way around the back without finding him. Jack frowned. Where had he gone? Jack kept on looking. Eventually, the telltale white of Ianto's shirt identified him sitting on an old crate. He was sitting with his elbows on his knees head down, looking completely dejected. It stopped Jack in his tracks. It was his fault, he thought to himself. His fault that his lover couldn't even look at him because of what he had done. Jack walked over and at the sound of his boot scraping against some debris on the ground Ianto looked up in his direction and away again. Jack paused, then renewed his resolve and moved forward. He moved around to the stack of pallets opposite where Ianto was sitting and he sat down. The wood creaked against his weight, but it held. He looked at Ianto for a long time before he finally spoke.

"I'm not proud of what I did," he finally said.

"Didn't think you were," Ianto said softly. He was looking down at his hands where he had been twisting a rubber band around his fingers. "I still don't understand, though."

Jack sighed. "The Prime Minister at the time thought that if we just gave into their demands, they would go and leave us alone. And it worked. They gave us the antidote that we needed, and they left. It wasn't a great solution, but it was the one that the government agreed to."

"And you were just following orders," Ianto said with a tired glance at Jack. Jack nodded. "Just being a good little soldier."

"Yeah," Jack said softly. "It was the case of a few versus countless others."

"That doesn't make it right," Ianto told him. He didn't look up at Jack. "God, Jack. Those poor children."

"Yeah," Jack said. The heavy pain in his voice finally made Ianto glance up at him. They stared at one another for a long moment, each recognizing the hopelessness in each other's eyes. A look that each of them had seen inside one another in the past, and which they had both buried in their own ways. Finally Jack spoke.

"Ianto, what I did was wrong. Believe me, you don't know how many times I agonized over what we did. But I didn't see a way out of it," he said in a voice pilled with pain. "And yes, I hid behind the veil of following orders. It somehow made what we did easier. None of us were proud of it, and now the others are dead. Killed by a government that is trying to cover up that these aliens have been here before.

"You heard what the military said," Jack said as he referred to the American general who had been outraged by the revelation of the child attached to the alien. "This is now all out in the open, and they know there have been dealings in the past. It puts the government in a bad position."

"And how can we use that to stop them from doing it again?" Ianto asked his eyes intent on Jack. Jack sighed and scrubbed at his tired eyes with his fingers.

"I don't know. But there has to be something," Jack said. He stared at the young man in front of him. The man who meant the world to him. And whose censure cut through him like a knife. "I want to fix this, Ianto. I need to fix this. To atone for what I did in the past. I don't blame you if you can't even look at me right now. I can barely look at myself," he said bitterly. Ianto opened his mouth but Jack held his hand up to stop him. "It's my fault."

Jack's comment got Ianto moving. He stood up and crossed over to where Jack was sitting and reached out a hand to make Jack look up at him. "Don't," he implored Jack. "Don't ever say that."

"What?" Jack asked him, his eyes showing his remorse. "That I can't stand to look at myself?"

"Saying that and saying that I can't," Ianto said to him. "Because it's not true." He stared Jack down until the other man glanced away. "Look at me, Jack." He waited a beat. Jack still looked away. He tightened his grip, forcing Jack to return his attention upwards. Reluctantly, Jack met his gaze. "I'm looking at you right now."

"And what do you see?" Jack asked him, his voice full of pain and self-loathing.

"I see a man in an impossible situation," Ianto told him. "You were between a rock and a hard place. It happened. You thought it the best solution at the time, and you were in a different point from where you are now. I don't think it was the optimal solution, but I also can't condemn you for it." He continued to stare down at Jack. "I see a man who has made mistakes," Ianto told him. "A man who is not infallible. And a man who is still here, trying to solve the problem that he inadvertently helped to create over 40 years ago."

"And is that enough?" Jack asked him hoarsely.

"It's a start," Ianto informed him. Jack tried to smile, but it came across more as a grimace. Ianto pulled him close and hugged Jack's head to his chest. Slowly, Jack's arms went around him and they hugged one another before Ianto leaned down and kissed him on the head.

"We'll sort this," Ianto said. "Together." He let go and Jack pulled back. He searched Ianto's face for a long moment and saw the sincerity in his eyes. His heart ached with the pain he had caused this man.

Reaching up, he touched the cut on Ianto's cheek. It hadn't healed at all, and Jack frowned as he examined it. Ianto automatically winced away before he got close enough to touch it. Jack let his hand drop to Ianto's shoulder and he stroked the exposed skin of his neck lightly. Ianto shivered and closed his eyes.

"Ianto, I…" Jack started tentatively and Ianto put up a hand to stop him.

"Jack, I can't," he whispered. He could see the change in Jack's eyes from internal conflict to desire. "I just can't."

Jack bowed his head and looked away from Ianto. "No, of course not. I understand." He pulled back his hand and moved so that he could stand up and get some distance. "You're right, of course." He didn't wait for Ianto to respond, but just walked away. Ianto turned and watched his other Jack stride off into a dark area of the warehouse and he let out a sigh.


	9. Chapter 9

He was feeling so conflicted. Never mind that there were two Jacks to contend with, but with what both of them had done in the past. How could he resolve that in only a few hours? What he had said to Jack was true, but he still had some things he needed to think about. He sat back down on the crate with a sigh and thought about the man, and exactly what he knew about him. And he realized that he didn't know much at all. Just the few things that he had been allowed to see during their time together. He felt raw inside, knowing that there were things he would never know about Jack. Wrapping his arms around his midsection, he hugged himself and waited for the coming day. Already, the sky was getting brighter. It was another sleepless night and Ianto finally made his way to the loo to freshen up for the day.

His head hurt. He couldn't see a way to solve this problem. Not when they had been sidelined in such a fashion. He washed up in the dilapidated sink in the restroom, and then used the portable razor to shave. He had to be careful of his cheek, so worked around it. While he was shaving, Rhys came in and nodded to him.

"Morning," Rhys said as he headed over to a urinal. Ianto nodded at him. Rhys finished his business and Ianto moved out of the way of the one working sink. He had removed his waistcoat, shirt and tie to wash up and as Rhys was washing, he got dressed again. He happened to look up and see Rhys was watching him in the mirror.

''How are you doing, mate?" Rhys asked him. He could see that Ianto hadn't slept. He couldn't even fathom what was going through the other man's mind. Even without there being two Jacks to deal with, how could he even reconcile what he did? Rhys tended to be more pragmatic, and could see the logic in what Jack had done in the past. But Gwen had railed for hours to him the evening before. It had obviously shocked her that her boss and friend could have done something like that. Rhys could only imagine what had to be going through Ianto's head.

"All right," Ianto said in a low voice as he avoided meeting Rhys' gaze. Rhys leaned against the sink.

"Did you even sleep at all?" He asked sympathetically. Ianto shook his head and sighed. "I started the coffee, and will have breakfast soon," he said, deliberately changing the subject.

"Sounds good," Ianto said. He headed to the door and then stopped. "Rhys?"

Rhys had turned back towards the mirror and had been contemplating shaving himself. "Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're here," Ianto said. "Gwen needs you here with her." Rhys brightened up at his comment.

"You think?" Sometimes he wondered if his wife ever needed him. She could be so fiercely independent. But he knew if he were being honest with himself that there were times when she did need him. Last night was one of them. "Thanks, Ianto." Ianto gave him a little smile and started to turn away when Rhys stopped him. "Hey, Ianto?"

"Yeah?" The younger man turned back in his direction.

"Sorry," Rhys said. Ianto looked at him for a moment with an odd look on his face. "Sorry that all this had to happen to you. " Ianto looked like he was going to say something for a moment but stopped himself. He hesitated at the door and then nodded.

"Thanks," he said softly and went out the door. He walked back over to where Gwen was, but when he saw her sitting on the old sofa, he couldn't deal with the questions he knew she'd ask, so he walked away in the other direction. He was feeling a bit too raw at the moment to have any in depth conversations with anyone else at the moment.

Which is of course why he ran into Jack, he thought to himself. Jack was standing and staring at nothing, his back to the glass block wall. Ianto looked at him sadly. This was the one he had mentally dubbed First Jack. The conversation they had was painful for Ianto. All of his thoughts were at the forefront of his mind in regards to what he had been thinking about how little he knew about the man he loved. When Jack brushed him off with telling him that there was nothing else but what he had already seen, he felt a deep ache that Jack wouldn't open up for him. And when he did finally tell him something, it was a blow that was shocking, but in some ways he wondered why it should have surprised him to find that Jack had had a daughter and a grandson that he had never mentioned before. It underscored that deep divide between them that made Ianto feel like he knew nothing about his lover.

Ianto just watched Jack walk away, still hearing the break in his voice when he had mentioned that they had captured his family. Jack liked to pretend that there was nothing below the surface, but that very catch in his voice proved him wrong. The door closed behind him as he left the building and Ianto was left wondering where their relationship was in all this. Could he just accept Jack for what he was willing to show? Would that ever be enough? Ianto knew that they had gone too far for that. He sighed. Perhaps he was being premature with any thoughts of a further relationship, given what they were up against as well as the fact that eventually he would have to choose which Jack he was going to be with, if at all. He watched as Rhys left the restroom and headed over to where his wife and Clem were sitting. Into shook his head. Now wasn't the time to be wallowing in the problems of his personal life when there was a much larger issue that needed to be resolved.

He walked back over to the work area and Gwen looked up and gave him a tentative smile. Rhys had warned her that Ianto wasn't doing too well, so she resolved not to press him. Just the look in his eyes showed the pain he was feeling, and she got up and walked up to where he was standing, just to the left of the computer console that he had been working at the night before.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Ianto nodded and attempted a smile, but it came across more as a grimace than anything else. She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him. He froze for a minute before relaxing into her embrace. Giving her a brisk hug, he pulled back and she let him. She knew how private he could be, and this whole thing had to be making his head spin.

"Did you talk to him?" She asked softly. He nodded. "What can we do?"

"We'll figure out something. We always do," he said in response.

"I can't believe we're letting them get away with this," Gwen said, her anger at what was going on bubbling over. "I just can't believe Jack doesn't go in there guns blazing. What happened, Ianto? How…" Ianto cut her off.

"It's complicated," he told her. "As we saw last night," he said with a glance towards Clem. "There's a lot we don't know."

Gwen nodded. "Where did he go?" She asked. She had seen them talking across the warehouse and had heard Ianto's raised voice asking him where he was going. She watched Ianto's face intently, seeing something flicker in his gaze. "What is it?" She asked. Ianto sighed and reached up to rub the back of his neck.

"There's a lot about Jack that we don't know," Ianto said softly. Gwen nodded and waited for him to continue. He looked down at the floor, trying to figure out a way to tell her. Rhys came over with two steaming mugs of coffee and handed one to each of them. Ianto automatically accepted the offering. A part of him wryly thought about how he had always wanted to be more of an integral part of the team and now that he was, he wished he could be the one making coffee for everyone else. Life back then had been so much easier. Well, after Lisa, that is. He looked up as Rhys started to turn away and figured they both deserved to know. "Jack has a family."

Rhys paused in the act of turning away and stopped to stare at him. Gwen scanned his face and said nothing as she waited for him to continue. "A daughter and grandson. Frobisher has them captive and is using them to guarantee his good behavior." Gwen's eyes widened in surprise. She wondered if she would ever know the man and all of the things he kept hidden. A family was a big thing to hide and she could only wonder at how Ianto had taken the news.

"Oh, Ianto," she said softly. She reached out to touch his hand and he almost flinched away from her. "I'm so sorry." Ianto looked at her sadly.

"We don't even know him, do we?" He said hoarsely. After a moment he closed his eyes and turned away. "We don't know him at all." Gwen's lips trembled as she reacted to the raw pain in Ianto's voice. Ianto sat down and he log into the computer, then started a search for Jack's relatives in the Torchwood mainframe databases. There were historical archives that he had access to, but he had never looked into the personnel files from the past more than he had to. Too often the people there died too young and under bad circumstances, which didn't make for the most light reading. But if Jack had a family, perhaps there was some record in the Torchwood databases which would give him some more information. If he had a grandson, his daughter had to be at the very least in her twenties, and probably older. Ianto's mind froze on the thought that Jack possibly had a daughter his own age. Shaking his head resolutely, he focused on the task at hand and pushed further thoughts of Jack out of his head as he searched.


	10. Chapter 10

Gwen stood where he had left her, watching his back with a sympathetic look on her face. She couldn't even begin to imagine how he was feeling at the moment. Ianto was an enigma to her. Often he hid his true emotions behind a protective façade. It was the antithesis of how she was herself, and she had a hard time cracking that shell he wore. She reflected that she knew nothing about him. Nothing about his background, nor where he lived or anything, other than she knew how he felt about Jack. She had looked in the personnel database and found that most of the information was blank in regards to his records other than the fact that he had worked for Torchwood London prior to coming to Cardiff. Even his address was fake, as there wasn't a Heol-y-Gwent Rd in Cathays. She smiled as she realized that she knew less about Ianto than she did about Jack at this point.

She watched as he threw himself into his work, searching some sort of records. Windows popped up and she could see he was going through old records. Faces flashed by as he sifted through the information, looking for something. She rested her hand on his shoulder and leaned over to kiss the top of his head. His hands faltered on the keys for a moment before continuing, but he didn't respond to her actions. After a moment, she turned away and looked at her husband. He smiled and gestured for her to leave Ianto alone. Nodding, she stepped away and followed Rhys over to the makeshift kitchen area.

"That was a surprise," Rhys muttered as he began putting some bacon butties together for them for breakfast.

"Yeah," she said softly. "And he's right. What else is there in Jack's past that we don't know about?" She wondered. Rhys just shrugged. She rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I still can't get over what he did."

"Look," Rhys told her. "You've been working with him for years now. You've seen the good that he's done. The good that you've helped create here. He's that man you have always admired. Yes he's done things in the past that he isn't proud of. I think we can all say that about something. It's just that because he is who he is that his mistakes are much bigger and long reaching than ours.

"I saw his face, Gwen. He's not proud of what he did, although honestly, I don't think he had much choice in the matter," Rhys continued. Gwen just looked at him. "If he didn't do it, there were others who would have. He wasn't alone in this you know. And at the time it did seem to be the only solution. We can't judge him for that."

"No, I suppose not," Gwen said. Rhys, as usual made a lot of sense. Jack was still the man whom she would crawl through glass to be with, and would face the end of the world time and again for. And Rhys knew that and let her do it. She stared at her husband. He saw far more than he would admit to, and she knew that she owed him a lot for giving her the freedom she had. She turned him towards her and kissed him soundly. "What would I do without you, Rhys Williams?" She asked fiercely.

"Starve, probably," Rhys said lightly and with a twinkle in his eye. He knew that she wasn't talking about the food he was putting together, but he acknowledged her silent apology without comment. He handed her a plate with the bacon butty on it. "Here, bring this over to Clem for me, will you?" She smiled and nodded. Turning away from him, she made her way over to where Clem was huddled on the sofa, rocking back and forth. Rhys put together another couple of sandwiches and brought one over to Ianto. He stood behind him for a minute and watched the man work. He had gotten to know this man well recently, and he knew that Ianto was burying himself in his work in order to lose himself. After a moment, Rhys placed the plate next to his hand.

Ianto glanced over before returning his attention back to the screen. "Thanks," he said. The MI5 database was open and Rhys could see that Ianto had a window open with a photo of a young girl with an older woman in one window and in the MI5 database, a search was going on. Probably cross referencing the photos. Rhys sat down next to Ianto and ignored the way he stiffened at his proximity.

"That them?" He asked as he pointed with the sandwich in his hand before taking a bite. Ianto nodded. Rhys leaned in and peered closely. "Eat up, you're going to need your strength," he commented. He saw Ianto shrug out of the corner of his eye.

"Not hungry," Ianto murmured. His fingers flew over the keys as he typed something in.

"Still should eat," Rhys said. "The last thing you want is your stomach growling when dealing with an alien menace." Ianto turned to look at him for a moment, startled. Then he started to chuckle.

"That would be embarrassing, wouldn't it?" Ianto asked. The knot in his stomach loosened a bit with the release of the tension he was feeling. He seriously considered what Rhys had said and after a moment, he picked up the sandwich. Taking a bite, he gestured at the screen. "That's his daughter. Her name was Melissa, but from what I can see of our own records, when her mother left in 1975, she went undercover. Maybe she ran and didn't want to get retconned. Not really sure." It helped to be able to talk to someone about what he was finding. "Anyway, I'm searching other databases to see if they were put into a cover of some sort. Maybe if I can find out some information, I'll be able to find out where they have taken her and Jack's grandson and we'll be able to get them out." He heard footsteps behind him and glanced up to see Gwen.

"So her mother worked for Torchwood?" Gwen asked. Ianto nodded and Gwen peered over his shoulder at the record. "1968-1975. That's a long time to work for Torchwood."

"Yeah," Ianto replied. "According to the records, she left in '75, probably when she had the baby." He glanced upwards at Gwen who nodded, but said nothing. "Obviously something happened after that since the Torchwood records stop in 1977." The computer beeped and the MI5 search stopped. "Here's the match." He pulled up the record and they all peered closer to look. "Relocation program at the request of Lucia," Ianto typed something in and Melissa's record expanded to fill the screen. It showed a photograph of young woman as well as the false information that had been planted. At the bottom was a listing for one Steven Carter. "His grandson is nine years old," Ianto said.

"And Frobisher has them," Gwen said. Ianto nodded and she ran her fingers through her hair. "So we need to get them out of wherever he has them."

"And how do you do that, love?" Rhys asked reasonably. She looked at him for a moment before turning back to Ianto. He was still staring at the photograph of Jack's daughter, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Can we find out where they've taken her?" Gwen asked. Ianto shrugged.

"Looking now," he said. He looked past the monitor as a flash of something tan moved past his line of sight. It was Second Jack, and he had just come in the door. He looked a bit worse for wear, but then he, like Ianto, hadn't slept all night. He stood just inside the doorway and looked at the group huddled around the computer. Then he slowly made his way over to where they were.

"God, this is difficult," Gwen muttered.

"Tell me about it," Ianto said and she put her hand on his shoulder. He blanked the screen before Jack could see it. He let his gaze wander over the man he had called his lover and wondered what other things were hidden that would come up to haunt them some day.

Jack just looked at them. He had seen his other self and they had spoken before First Jack had gone off to make his phone call. Gwen bit her lip as she watched the anguish pass over his face when he looked at Ianto, who was resolutely not looking in his direction.

"I'm sorry," he finally said hoarsely. He was apologizing. Apologizing for the pain he had caused them, and for the fact that he didn't see an easy resolution to the problem this time. Rhys was the only one who smiled back at him. Gwen just stared at him with an unreadable expression on her face and Jack noted that she had a comforting hand on Ianto's shoulder. His gaze shifted to look at the man in front of him. Ianto looked like hell. It was obvious that he hadn't slept, and he had closed his eyes rather than look at Jack. Jack nodded sadly and began to turn away.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Ianto finally asked. "About your daughter?" Jack stopped in act of turning and angled his body back in their direction.

"What good would it have done?" Jack asked. Ianto just looked at him. "What good would it do to tell you that I have a daughter who hates the sight of me, and a grandson who doesn't know the truth about me? My daughter is a woman who wants nothing to do with me, and because of me she's now locked up in a cell somewhere." He bowed his head and stood, his posture clearly one of dejection.

Ianto fought the urge to get up and comfort him. The revelations of the past day alone had created a divide between them that he didn't know was possible to cross at the moment. All his instincts were telling him to toss everything aside and go to Jack. Gwen looked down. She could feel Ianto trembling under her hand, and her heart went out to him.

After a long moment of internal conflict Ianto stood up and walked around the makeshift computer desk. He walked up to Jack who looked up at the sound of his foot scraping on the cement floor. Ianto stood in front of him and looked at him. Who was this man that he loved? His eyes traced familiar features and when he met Jack's gaze he saw a mirror of the pain he himself felt. For all of Jack's flaws, he was still human. He still hurt. And it was that man that Ianto loved unconditionally. He couldn't condone what Jack had done in the past, but he also couldn't condemn him for it. Ianto had seen the look in his eyes when Clem had confronted him. The pain of knowing what he had done. He had seen Jack's reaction to the alien in the tank, and the child that had been grafted to its flesh. The child he himself had given over to them.

The look in Jack's eyes bespoke the private hell within. The pain and the self loathing in his eyes made Ianto ache. He had thought long and hard about how this would affect them, and in the end his emotions overruled his head. He could no sooner turn away from this man than he could stop breathing. He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Jack. Jack closed his eyes and tried not to lean into the other man's touch. After a moment, he bowed his head and rested his face against Ianto's shoulder.

Rhys nudged Gwen with his elbow and when she gave him a startled look, nodded with his head back towards his makeshift kitchen. She started to look back in the direction of the two men and he reached out to tug on her hand. Surprised, she looked at him and he shook his head no. Gwen nodded. Together, they turned and walked away from the two men, although she couldn't help the occasional glance over Rhys' shoulder as he cleaned up.

Ianto wasn't sure how long they stood there. He just knew that Jack needed him. After a long time Jack brought his head back off of Ianto's shoulder.

"I don't know what to do to fix this," he finally said in a low voice to Ianto. "I don't have a solution."

"That's what we're here for," Ianto said softly. "We'll figure it out together." Jack gazed at him, looking into Ianto's eyes and searching for something within them. Ianto stared back, projecting all he felt for Jack into his gaze.

The outside door creaked open and they looked in the direction together. First Jack stood in the doorway, his face cast into shadow by the brighter light outside. He stared at the two men in front of him, seeing Ianto's arms wrapped around the other Jack and he closed his eyes briefly before opening them again and stepping inside.


	11. Chapter 11

Ianto looked over at the other Jack and saw the flash of pain cross his face. He loosened his hold on Second Jack, but not before giving him a squeeze and a peck on the cheek. "He needs me," he murmured and Second Jack nodded and gently pushed Ianto over in the direction of the doorway. He then turned and walked over to the work area, his back to the two men behind him.

Ianto crossed the open expanse of the warehouse to where First Jack was standing. Jack had a guarded expression on his face as Ianto approached.

"Reach Frobisher?" Ianto asked him. Jack nodded. "Any luck?" Jack sighed heavily and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Jack." Jack looked down at the cement floor and nodded. Ianto glanced behind to see where the others were. Second Jack was at the stove with Rhys and Gwen and Ianto turned back to see First Jack turning away, his head still down. Ianto couldn't help but respond to the dejection in his posture. Walking swiftly, he reached out and put his hand on Jack's shoulder. Pushing him gently so that they faced one another, he reached up with his other hand and gripped Jack by the shoulders, stopping him from moving further. "Hey."

"Yeah?" Jack glanced up again and away, unable to look Ianto in the eye.

"It's me here," Ianto said softly. Jack nodded and his mouth quirked briefly, but he said nothing. "I know this hurts, Jack. I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Jack said softly, his voice raw with emotion. He had been concentrating on keeping a lid on it, but Ianto's comment just brought it all back to the surface. He finally looked up at Ianto. "I don't think I can do this." Jack's gaze flicked over Ianto's shoulder and back again. Ianto knew what he meant, and it have nothing to do with his family, the alien menace or what was happening to the children. It had to do with them. Ianto stared at him for a long moment before coming to a decision.

"Come with me," he said softly. He let go of Jack and turned away, the heels of his shoes echoing softly as he walked away towards the back of the warehouse. Jack hesitated for a long moment before following him. They reached the shadowy area of the warehouse and Ianto continued on, confident that Jack would follow. Eventually he reached a doorway which led to a disused storage room. Looking over his shoulder, he passed through the open doorway. This room, like other parts of the warehouse, had high windows which let the light in. He heard the scrape of Jack's boot on some debris and he turned around to face him. Jack hesitated in the doorway. Ianto waited patiently and eventually Jack moved into the room.

"Come here," Ianto requested. Jack paused for a moment and looked around the room. It was bare, except for an old battered desk which was pushed up against one corner of the room. He slowly made his way over to where Ianto stood until he was standing in front of him. Ianto looked him over and nodded. He held open his arms. Jack stared at him.

"What about the other one?" He finally asked.

"I'm looking at you, not him at the moment," Ianto said steadily. "Come here, please." Jack took a hesitant step in Ianto's direction. Ianto sighed. "Sometime today would be nice." Jack let out a low laugh at the tone in Ianto's voice. He moved closer and Ianto wrapped his arms around Jack and pulled him against his body. Jack leaned into his embrace, grateful for the human touch. His lover's touch. Slowly, his arms crept up of their own accord and he gingerly held Ianto in his arms.

Ianto rested his cheek against Jack's. He could feel the tension slowly draining out of the other man and he closed his eyes and just stood there. He accepted Jack for all he was, and for whatever he was willing to share of himself. He had no other choice, because he loved him.

Once Jack was relaxed against him, he pulled back slightly and brushed his lips against Jack's. That simply act opened a floodgate and Jack latched onto him hungrily, pushing the kiss past the simple touch of one set of lips against the other to something so much more. Ianto responded to that inherent need in Jack's demand and opened his mouth against Jack's. They kissed one another hungrily. Eventually the need to breathe interfered and Ianto broke it off with a gasp. Jack panted and stared into his eyes. Ianto saw the need there and responded to it. He leaned in for another kiss, this time initiating the push of their tongues together. Jack's grip on him tightened and they were pressing themselves against one another as they broke the kiss off again.

"Oh god," Ianto moaned. He laid his head against Jack's shoulder and shuddered. Jack's hands went up his back of their own volition and stroked the nape of his neck. Ianto responded by kissing him. He worked a trail up Jack's neck until their lips met again in another fiery kiss. When they pulled apart this time, Jack initiated the next kiss. He could feel Ianto's body responding against his own and his thoughts reeled chaotically inside his head. This was his Ianto, in his arms. Not that other one's.

Like a splash of cold water, the thought of the other Jack made him pause. That other Jack was him as well.

Ianto felt Jack freeze and he pulled back to look at him in the face. "What?" He whispered. He knew that this wasn't the time or place for anything intimate, but he found himself craving more. It had been days since they last been together, and a lot had happened.

"What about…?" Jack jerked his head in the direction of the doorway. He was loathe to separate himself from Ianto, but the other Jack was going to be an issue. Ianto stared at him for a moment before understanding dawned.

"I'm with you right now," Ianto told him. He slid his arms down Jack's back so that they were looped about the other man's waist. "I'm not really thinking about him at the moment."

"He's Jack, too," Jack reminded him. He rested his forehead against Ianto's and sighed. "Boy, when I screw up, I know how to do it big, don't I?"

"This is not your fault," Ianto told him. "You did not place an explosive device in your own stomach." He could feel Jack's stiff muscles underneath his hands and he rubbed Jack's back. He rubbed his cheek against Jack's and sighed. "I wish we could have some time alone together."

"And what about him?" Jack asked him. It bothered him that he was so jealous of the other Jack. He didn't want to share Ianto. Even with himself. He chuckled to himself, but the sound was more of a rasp than anything else. Ianto sighed again.

"I honestly don't know," Ianto told him. "You're the same Jack, you're just in two different bodies," Ianto said. "I can't help but respond to both of you." Jack nodded. He understood. He pulled back so he could look Ianto in the eyes.

"This must be so hard for you," he said softly. His eyes tracked over Ianto's face. He saw the lines there and the tired look in his eyes. It was obvious he hadn't slept at all. Jack looked around. "Come here." He backed up and pulled Ianto over to where the dusty desk stood off to one side. "Let's sit for a bit."

Ianto looked doubtfully at the desk. "It's filthy," he said. Jack chuckled and this time it sounded somewhat more normal. He let go of Ianto briefly enough to pull his coat off and lay it on the top of the desk. Then he hopped up onto it and patted the space by his side.

"Come here," he said again. He saw Ianto hesitate and look at his watch. "A few minutes aren't going to change anything, and if Gwen really needs you, we'll know soon enough. Come here." Ianto nodded and climbed up onto the desk next to him. Jack leaned against the wall and pulled Ianto backwards into his embrace. Ianto shifted so that he could turn and cuddle closer. Jack smiled and rested his chin on Ianto's head. "I just want to hold you for a few minutes."

Ianto wrapped his arms around Jack's waist and closed his eyes. They sat like that for a few minutes, listening to the silence that surrounded them. Ianto could hear the beat of Jack's heart under his ear. If he tried, he could pretend that this was a night just like any other, where he was safe in Jack's arms and they were taking a break from a normal workday. Opening his eyes shattered that illusion, so he kept his eyes closed and just enjoyed the quiet moment while he could.

Jack rubbed random circles on Ianto's back as he stared across the empty room. He kept his mind clear of thoughts of what was going on. He just wanted to give Ianto a moment of peace. Peace, he reflected ruefully. Something he hadn't had in days of running and fighting shadows. He ached from the knowledge that this was his fault, and that it was because of him that his friends had been threatened and almost killed. He felt the pain of having to look into Clem's eyes and remember what he did all those years ago. He closed his eyes, willing himself not to think. He heard the shift in Ianto's breathing and smiled wryly. Ianto had dropped off, exhausted. He knew that they didn't have much time, but he wanted to give him as much time to rest as he could. He hoped that nothing interrupted this interlude of peace.


	12. Chapter 12

In the end, they only had a short time alone. Jack heard the noise of someone approaching, but wasn't going to wake Ianto until he had to. A few moments later, Gwen appeared in the doorway, peering about for them. Jack smiled sadly at her.

Gwen stared at the two men cuddled together on the desk. "Oh, Jack," she breathed. She could see from the way he was supporting Ianto that the other man was asleep. He just stared at her, afraid that if he made a sound it would rouse Ianto.

"The signal from Lois is back up," she continued softly, pitching her voice low so that it wouldn't wake her colleague. "They're apparently going to be heading to Downing Street."

"Okay," he whispered. "How long?" Ianto stirred and he automatically soothed him with his hands. Gwen watched as he ran his fingers through Ianto's hair. He looked down at him with a smile before turning his gaze back to her.

"You have some time," she said. "I'll come get you if we need you." He nodded. His other half could represent them, so it would be Ianto's help that they would need. He had been translating Lois' shorthand for them. He nodded and she smiled as she turned away.

In the end, Ianto had another twenty of minutes before Gwen came back to wake him. He blinked blearily as Jack gently shook him.

"Hey," Jack said to him as he slowly focused his gaze upwards.

"Did I fall asleep?" Ianto asked. Jack nodded and he straightened up with a stretch. "You should have woken me."

"You needed sleep," Jack told him. Ianto tilted his head around on his neck to stretch out the stiff muscles. "But we're needed." That got Ianto's attention and he sat up fully.

"What's happened?" He asked. He was already moving away from Jack and getting off of the desk so he could stand. Jack was only a beat behind him and he picked up his coat and shook it out to get the dust off of it. Ianto turned to see Gwen waiting at the doorway. He met her gaze and smiled wanly.

"They're headed over to Downing Street. We need to see what's going on," Gwen informed them. "And unfortunately, you're the only one who can read shorthand." Ianto nodded, straightened up and felt his back crack from sleeping in such an awkward position.

Jack came over and wrapped an arm around his waist. "Time to go." Ianto leaned into his embrace for a moment before pulling away and nodding.

"Let's do it," he said. He followed Gwen with Jack just behind him. Together they walked across the expanse of the warehouse until they got to where the others were sitting. Second Jack looked over at them and nodded. Rhys handed them both cups of coffee and Ianto gratefully sipped his. He was going to need the caffeine to stay awake.

On the laptop they could see that Lois was in a car somewhere. She was getting out a moment later and they could see that they were outside Downing Street. Gwen sat back down and typed a query about whether Lois was all right. A quick head nod answered that question and they watched as she headed into the building. Instead of heading up the stairs to the cabinet room they headed down a hall to an underground meeting room.

"Heh, trust the PM to make sure his arse is covered," Rhys said derisively. He turned away to make Gwen a cup of coffee. Second Jack glanced at him with a tiny smile on his lips. Ianto sipped the coffee and said nothing. First Jack walked away, unable to stand next to Clem who was twitching off to the side. Second Jack headed off to the loo, leaving just Ianto, Gwen and Clem there watching what was going on.

Gwen watched the screen intently and absentmindedly nodded when her husband put the mug next to her. "What's that sign there?" She asked, pointing. Ianto peered closely and called Jack over.

"Gold Command meeting," he announced. Jack got up from where he was seated and walked back over to where they stood. The meeting commenced and they watched with a combination of loathing and sick fascination at the machinations of their own leadership. Ianto positioned himself off to the side so the others could watch but he could see the screen enough to translate the shorthand. When the group got down to discussing how they were going to give into the demands Clem whimpered and moved away. Rhys stood and watched their faces. This was the first time he had seen the team in action together.

Second Jack had come out of the loo and was standing off to the side, listening to the audio as the command panel discussed their options. First Jack stood behind Gwen's shoulder. When she gave him her sympathy for his family he looked up and met Ianto's eyes. Ianto looked back unapologetically and Jack nodded. No more secrets. He understood. He turned his attention back to the screen.

When they began to dehumanize the proceedings by referring to the children as commodities Gwen wanted to turn away, but didn't. She was highly uncomfortable with the idea of just handing innocent children over to this unknown menace and was at a loss to find out how to stop them. She kept on hoping that there was something that would present itself and allow them to stop this madness.

Rhys could see she was getting increasingly agitated by what she was watching. Ianto's voice was the only sound for a moment as Lois wrote something down and he interpreted it for them. They were horrified to hear how the politicians reasoned their excuses and made sure that their own families were spared any kind of sacrifice. When the cabinet member proposed that the lower classes bear the brunt of the demand, Ianto gripped the desk in anger. Gwen could see his knuckles go white as they listened to the suggestion made in a reasonable tone that would allow them to get rid of a part of the population that they didn't care about. First Jack walked over and put his hand on Ianto's shoulder and Gwen looked over curiously. She saw that a look passed between them and Jack nodded to him before Ianto turned back to the computer screen. She was a bit mystified about what had just passed between them but said nothing. The meeting broke with the instructions to go to the aliens and offer to barter. Ianto shook his head as he watched. If he hadn't already been disillusioned by the government, this would have certainly done it. He checked the hard drive to make sure that they were still recording the proceedings.

Rhys offered to make them something to eat, but no one had any appetite. While they waited for Frobisher to go back to Thames House they were at loose ends. Ianto finished off his cold coffee with a grimace, but refused a second cup. He walked away from the group, lost in thought. Second Jack walked over to him after a glance at his other self.

"We'll find a way to help them," he said softly, pitching his voice so that the others couldn't hear. Ianto stiffened at the sound of his voice. Jack knew him all too well.

"It's not just them, Jack," Ianto said in a low tone. "It's all of them. How can we stop them?" He looked at Second Jack with the weight of the world on his shoulders. "They're really going to do this, even if it's only a few."

"Somehow, I don't think that the 456 will accept only a few," Second Jack said. It obviously had a specific number in mind, for whatever reason it wanted the children. He just wished he knew why they wanted them. Maybe that would provide a key to stopping them. Ianto closed his eyes at Jack's comment.

"He's there," Gwen announced and the two men headed back to the computer console. They watched as Frobisher tried to negotiate the numbers down and the alien implacably demanded 325,000 in response.

"That didn't help, did it?" Rhys muttered as they watched. In fact, on another screen where they were monitoring the news channels they could see that each of the reporters were telling their audiences that the children were speaking in unison again. Except this time, they were speaking in unison for each country, not the same all over the world. Different numbers popping up on each of the screens as each country reported a different figure. Ianto went over and watched closely. First Jack walked up behind him and listened intently.

"That's probably 10% of each country," he commented. The others stared at him as the voices called out long strings of numbers in a myriad of different languages. They heard voices talking over one another and turned back to the computer. The cabinet members were trying to figure out how they were going to come up with 325,000 children. They took a break while they waited for Frobisher to return.


	13. Chapter 13

"How the hell are they going to get that many children together in a day?" Rhys wondered. Gwen speculated that they would have to go to a central place to collect them and suggested the schools. Ianto turned around and walked back in her direction.

"Yes, that would be the logical place to go, wouldn't it?" He murmured softly. Discussion continued in the Gold Command room as they came up with options for mobilizing forces and getting the people to go along with it. Ianto leaned against the desk and let his head hang down. He was exhausted, and this whole thing had given him a massive headache. A moment later, he felt hands massaging his neck and shoulders.

First Jack rubbed Ianto's back, willing him to relax and the tension to leave the other man. He knew that was easier said than done. Gwen stared at the screen and listened to the politicians bicker. She couldn't help but glance over at Jack and the look on his face made her catch her breath. Her eyes flickered over to Ianto's face and she saw a similar look on his face. She bit her lip and turned away, trying to give them whatever privacy she could. Clem wandered away, moaning at the way the command group was bartering innocent children away with little thought to the consequences.

"You're ready to drop," Jack murmured in Ianto's ear. "Go sit down." Ianto shook his head but didn't say anything. Jack continued to work on the knotted muscles in Ianto's back, attempting to give him some relief, if that were at all possible. It didn't help that the discussion in the conference room was going along in the fashion that it did. They sounded so cold and detached, rationalizing what they had to do without any remorse. Gwen buried her face in her hands as she continued to listen.

"How do we fight this?" She wondered. "Listen to them. All so cool and reasonable. They don't give a damn at all."

"Maybe they do, but they don't see that they've got a choice," Rhys said, playing devil's advocate. First Jack leaned his forehead against Ianto's back as he thought.

"We still need to know why," he said softly, his voice muffled by the material under his face. "I keep on thinking that will be the key to all this. Why? Why do they want the children?"

Ianto straightened up and pushed Jack off him as he stood. He turned around. "That's an excellent question. Why do they need the children?"

Second Jack nodded. "Revitalize their race by grafting the children to their bodies? Perhaps they enable them to live?"

"So how did they survive before 1965?" Rhys asked.

"Perhaps they didn't need them prior to that," Gwen mused. "Like they contracted some illness and the children help them live."

"Why not synthesize what they need?" Ianto postulated. First Jack thought about it and started pacing back and forth.

"Unable to because of their claws?" Jack hazarded. "Can't manipulate what they need?"

"Then how do they travel or get into space, or anything like that?" Gwen asked. "They have to be capable of some sort of technology, after all."

"Maybe they manipulate the races they run into and force them to create what they need," Rhys hazarded. It made them think for a few minutes, but Gwen and Ianto shook their heads.

"It's something else," Ianto said. He stared off into the distance as he thought. "They obviously have a technology that allows them to transport themselves wherever they want," he thought aloud. "But they needed humans to create the tank for them to live."

"So they communicated that to the government," Second Jack said, picking up on what he was thinking. "How?"

"Through the frequency," First Jack said. The others looked at him and he shrugged. "That's how we heard from them the first time. Presumably someone learned to decode what they were sending so they could interpret it."

"So, did they also tell the government why they needed the children?" Gwen asked. Both Jacks shook their heads and she blinked at seeing the simultaneous headshake. "And why not?"

"Frobisher asked them why they wanted the children. They never said why, just showed us," Jack said.

"Actually, he asked what they wanted the children for, and that's when they showed us," Ianto corrected. "He never asked why." That made them pause and think.

"Why graft an alien to your flesh?" Jack wondered. "What could you possibly hope to get by doing that?" He kept on pacing as he thought.

"A symbiotic relationship?" Ianto guessed. "Something in the children's bodies that help them? And at the same time, something inside them that retards the growth of the children and locks them in a childlike state?" Gwen shuddered and Rhys put his hands on her shoulders to reassure her.

Second Jack turned in Ianto's direction. "Symbiotic relationship. Hmmm, that has to be the key. What do pre-pubescent children give them?" He wondered.

"Do we know that's what they need?" Rhys asked.

"Well, they don't control older children," Gwen pointed out. The others nodded. "And they didn't take Clem," she added and Clem hunkered down and shuddered. She put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "That's a good thing, Clem. You could be our key."

"Don't make me go to them!" Clem cried out. Gwen spent the next several minutes reassuring him that she wouldn't. Ianto, Rhys and the two Jacks moved aside and continued to brainstorm ideas.

"So, going on that idea, what is special about young children?" Second Jack asked.

"No hormones," Rhys said and Ianto nodded.

"Innocent," he said. The others looked at him. "Well, relatively."

"Maybe they're like lambs and the flesh is more tender," Rhys suggested. Clem cowered behind him at his comment. The two Jacks made a face at the same time and Rhys felt a little unnerved at watching the mirrored reactions.

"It's not like they're eating them," Jack said in disgust. Rhys just shrugged.

"Maybe there's something chemically involved," Second Jack suggested. "Something that's in their bodies that the 456 crave or need." First Jack stared long and hard at his other half and they both considered that idea as well as whether they had any prior experience with a race that did something similar. Nothing came to mind.

"Going with the idea that it's chemical, can we figure out what chemical and is there a way to counteract or simulate the same thing?" First Jack asked. His question made Ianto turn back towards the computer and start doing a search. He pulled up the physiological profile of a pre-adolescent child as well as what might make up the chemicals that would be of interest to the 456. Then he did a comparison with a typical teenage child as well as an adult. Soon he had three long lists of chemicals side by side. He worked to eliminate the ones in common and then focused on those that were unique to the children.

"What if that's a wrong assumption?" Rhys asked. "What if they just want the children because they can control them long enough to do what they want to do, and it would be more difficult to do with an adult?"

"What if they've never tried an adult, and don't know what they're missing?" Ianto asked.

"We don't really want to trade adults for children though," Second Jack said. "That's still not a good solution."

"And what's to stop them from coming back again?" Ianto asked. "Especially if we give them the idea the whole world's population can be used?"

First Jack was staring across the warehouse at his doppelganger. "What if we offered them an inexhaustible supply instead?" Second Jack met his eyes and nodded. Ianto looked up, startled.

"Oh, you have got to be joking," he said. He stared from one to the other of the two men. "Be serious, Jack."

"We are," Second Jack said. He had a speculative look on his face as he wondered if it would work.

"Don't even consider it," Gwen said. "We wouldn't let you do it."

"Why not?" First Jack asked her. "If it stopped them from doing this, it would be worth it."

"No," Ianto said hoarsely. He looked sick at the thought at what the Jacks were suggesting. "Why would you put yourself into that sort of hell?"

"Because I deserve it?" Second Jack said rhetorically. "And because perhaps if I can get inside, I can find a way to fight it?"

"Because the thing will rip you to pieces?" Ianto asked, his voice rising with his anxiety. There was a slightly hysterical note to his voice. "We can't let you do it. We don't even know if it would work or they'll even accept it."

"Plus, there's no way to get in," Gwen interjected.

"Yes there is," First Jack said. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a mobile phone. "I have an in."

"Frobisher," Ianto breathed. First Jack met his eyes and nodded. "Oh, Jack." Ianto reached out to him and he pulled away.

"I'll be back. I need to make a call," he said as he strode away in the direction of the door. Gwen got up to intercept him and he bypassed her on his way out. A moment later he was through the door and they heard the engine of the Porsche roar before the sound retreated as Jack drove away.


	14. Chapter 14

"You cannot be serious," Gwen said to Second Jack. He stood with his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

"What choice do we have?" He asked her. "If it gets me in there, I'll do what I have to in order to make this right."

"By sacrificing yourself?" She asked incredulously. He nodded. "You're mad."

"Probably," he agreed. "Maybe I can take an explosive in with me or something," he mused. Ianto closed his eyes and looked away, feeling sick at the thought. The last time Jack had an explosive with him it wasn't a good ending to the day. He didn't think he could watch as Jack blew up again.

"Could you really do it?" Rhys asked him. Jack looked at him and nodded. "Let them cut you to pieces and divide you amongst them like candy?"

"Maybe I'll give them indigestion," Second Jack said in a light tone with a twinkle in his eye. Ianto rolled his eyes and Jack grinned, showing them his perfect teeth.

"We just got you back, though!" Gwen cried. She got up and ran over to him and grabbed his coat lapels. "We are not going to lose you again!" Second Jack reached out and held onto her arms, preventing her from shaking him again.

"You have a Jack here. I'm just the spare part," he said softly, looking down at her. "Maybe this is why it happened. Maybe this is my way to atone for what happened in the past.

"No, no, no!" Gwen cried. Ianto turned away from them. He felt sick at the thought of Jack doing this. He still hadn't come to terms with having to deal with two of him, but he certainly wasn't willing to let one of them do this. He closed his eyes and leaned on the desk. Knowing Jack, both of him would want to atone for his past mistakes. He tried to think of some other sort of solution. He hoped that something would present itself as an alternative, but nothing came to mind.

Once First Jack had driven far enough away so that if he were traced it wouldn't lead back to the team, he took the mobile off the passenger seat and speed dialed a phone number. John Frobisher was in the hallway leading back to the stairwell to the underground command center at Downing Street. His mobile rang and when he saw the caller ID, he asked Bridget to do another trace. Perhaps this time they would locate Harkness and be able to pull him back into custody.

"Yes?" He asked in a tired voice as he answered his mobile. "I really don't have time for this, Captain Harkness."

"Frobisher, listen to me," Jack implored. "Just hear me out. I think I have an alternative."

Jack's statement made John Frobisher pause in mid step. He was sick with the thought of what they were doing, but he really didn't see an alternative. "And what might that be?" He wasn't sure he could trust Harkness. The man was uncanny with his knowledge of the inner workings of the British government. Plus, anyone who could keep on coming back from the dead had to be just wrong in some way. He stifled a shudder and pushed that thought out of his head.

"We think we know what they want the children for," Jack said. He knew that he needed to hurry. "And that's for a chemical that they produce."

"And you want to give them an alternative," Frobisher said.

"Yes," Jack replied. Frobisher kept on pacing in the hallway and glancing towards Bridget. She was on her mobile waiting for a response from the MI5 command centre. "But I need to get in to see them. Need to be able to make the offer. See if they'll go for it."

"And what is your offer?" Frobisher asked.

"You'll have to trust me on this one, but it's good. It will be something that they can't refuse," Jack said with a confident nod to himself.

"And what is it?" The politician asked. He was staring down the hall at the milling personnel who waited to go downstairs to the briefing room.

"Me," Jack said simply. "I'll offer myself." Frobisher barked out harsh laughter at his answer.

"Oh my God, how arrogant!" He exclaimed. "How could you possibly think that they would take you over the children?"

"Because I'll make them an offer they can't resist," Jack said in a confident tone, selling his idea. "Look, sir. I know that they want more children than you can hope to gather."

"But how…" John Frobisher spluttered.

"Hundreds, thousands. Perhaps millions," Jack continued. "Let me try this first. Save you the hassle of rounding up the kids."

"Captain Harkness, I do think you overestimate your appeal," John Frobisher said in a dry voice.

"Mr. Frobisher, I represent a renewable source to them. I can't die. I can regenerate. I can supply them with whatever they need for all of eternity. How can that not be a good trade?" Jack asked reasonably. He could hear a helicopter off in the distance and he ducked under some scaffolding, hoping the metal would delay the trace a little longer. He wanted them to find him and to take him to Thames House. That was part of his plan, but he needed to get Frobisher to agree first. "Let me talk to them at least."

"I have to pass this up the ladder," Frobisher replied. "See if they agree."

"Just ask Green what he has to lose," Jack said. "If I'm wrong, it's no harm, no foul, and they change their minds. But if I'm right, I'll have an in to them and perhaps can damage them on my way out. That has to be worth something, John."

Frobisher bowed his head. He heard the pain in the other man's voice and knew he blamed himself for giving those children away so many years ago. This was his chance to atone for his actions, and Frobisher really couldn't fault him with that.

"All right, let me see what I can do." He said.

"Good, I'll call you later," Jack said. He hung up the phone, having changed his mind about being captured. He needed to get some stuff done first. Something that would guarantee that when he had his little heart to heart with the 456, that he would be able to stop this once and for all.


	15. Chapter 15

Back at the warehouse, Ianto had walked off to be by himself. He couldn't focus with thoughts of what was going to happen if Jack was able to do this. It made him physically ill to contemplate Jack essentially committing suicide to pay for what he considered his sins of the past.

Gwen was still railing at Second Jack when she saw his attention being drawn off by something over her shoulder. She looked and saw Ianto walking away from them and it stopped her cold. She had been thinking about herself, and how what Jack was planning to do would affect her. It never crossed her mind what Jack's idea would do to Ianto.

Jack sidestepped her and went after Ianto, his steps echoing in the vast space as he followed after his lover. Ianto went in a completely different direction from before. He didn't want to speak with Jack and he ignored the sounds behind him. He just needed to get away and be by himself. His thoughts swirled chaotically inside his head and he could hear his harsh breathing in his own ears. He ducked through a door and went down a hallway. This area of the warehouse was used as offices way back when Torchwood One used it for storage. As part of the archives and research team he had come out here on several occasions to do work and so had been familiar with the facility. It had been years since he had been there, though.

He picked his way through the bits of office furniture that was still scattered about. The stuff deemed not worthy of taking elsewhere. Idly, he wondered who had dismantled the warehouse. Perhaps it had been one of the other offices. He knew that Jack had sent Owen and Suzie in to scavenge stuff from the Tower. Perhaps they had been in charge of cleaning out the auxiliary locations as well. He stopped when he came to a blank wall. Staring at it without seeing it for a long moment, his mind was back in the old days when this used to be the archives and records room. It had been where the initial reports on retrieved items had been put in file cabinets. Everything had been in its place, so neat and orderly. He looked at the floor and could see the differences in the color of the tile where the file cabinets had been lined up against the wall. The floor had been scraped from where someone had pulled the cabinets out. Bits of paper were scattered about, left behind by the movers as being of no interest to them.

He knew the moment when Jack found him. It wasn't like he heard him, but instead he felt Jack's presence fill the room. He stood with his back to the doorway, his hands in his pockets.

"You're really going to do this," he said, almost to himself.

"Yeah," Jack's voice echoed behind him. He didn't need to turn around to know that Jack stood in the doorway, blocking his escape. He closed his eyes.

"Even if you don't know whether it will work," Ianto went on. Jack didn't respond for a long moment and finally Ianto sighed and turned around.

"It has to work," Jack said. "It's the only possible solution."

"And how do you think you're going to make this better?" Ianto asked in a rough voice. The thought of Jack being ripped apart by an alien menace and parceled out only to regenerate attached to each of them made him feel sick. "How could that possibly be a good solution?" He cried, the anguish inside bubbling through to the surface.

"If it saves those children, it will be worth it," Jack said, meeting Ianto's gaze steadily. "If it saves your niece and nephew, as well as the potential of all of those children around the world that they're willing to discard because it's convenient for them to do so, then I will happily sacrifice myself for the greater good."

"And what about me, and how I feel?" Ianto asked him. Jack stared at him for a long moment.

"We do what we have to, and right now, there's a bit excess amount of me going around," Jack said.

"And you really think the other one will let you just go do this by yourself?" Ianto asked. He knew that both of them would want to atone for their past actions and that he wouldn't be able to stop them. "We both know that won't be the case."

Second Jack looked at Ianto and knew that he was right. "I'll talk to him." Ianto laughed harshly and turned away. He walked over to the blank wall and leaned his head against it, the pain inside a physical ache. He wanted to clutch his stomach where the sick feeling felt like a lead weight, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. He heard Jack moving and a moment later felt hands pulled him away from the wall. Jack wrapped his arms around Ianto and hugged him from behind.

"I am so sorry," Jack whispered into his ear. "You don't deserve this."

"Neither do you," Ianto said. He could hear his voice crack and he closed his eyes. They burned with unshed tears. "Jack, you don't deserve this either." He could hear Jack breathing in his ear. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"Ianto, you know it isn't that simple. We need a solution, and this is the only one we've got," Jack told him.

"But you don't even know if it will work," Ianto told him.

"I think it will," Jack said confidently. "Call it a gut feeling."

"So you're willing to do this on a hunch?" Ianto asked. He leaned his head back against Jack's shoulder so that his face was resting against Jack's. "And this is supposed to make me feel better?"

"No. If I wanted you to feel good I'd shag you over the desk in the corner," Jack said, trying to break the intense moment. Ianto snorted and shook his head. Jack started rubbing his hand in circles on Ianto's chest. Ianto closed his eyes and willed himself not to think. He just wanted to feel this closeness with Jack. Feel his arms holding him, giving him the illusion of being secure.

Gwen turned as the door opened and First Jack strode in. Rhys looked up from where he had been sitting watching her pace. She stared as Jack headed over to them.

"How'd it go?" She asked. She was emotionally drained after everything that had happened.

"I made the offer, now it's up to Frobisher to pitch it," Jack said. He glanced over at the laptop, but it looked like they were on some sort of break still. "He hasn't gone back in there?"

"No," Gwen said. "Lois wrote something down but I didn't understand it." Jack frowned and looked around.

"Where's Ianto? Why wasn't he here to translate?" Jack asked.

"As you can imagine, the thought of you handing yourself over to an alien menace to be divvied up was a bit upsetting," Gwen said tartly. Jack gave her an unreadable look and she stared him down. She was angry on Ianto's behalf and nothing Jack could do that would dissuade her from giving him a piece of her mind. "He went off with the other Jack following him. He was pretty upset, Jack. I wouldn't even hazard to guess what's going through his head at the moment."

"The other one went with him?" Jack asked. Gwen blinked. Did she just see something that looked like jealousy pass over his face? He quickly schooled his expression so she wasn't certain. But she could only imagine how awkward that the whole thing must be for them. Gwen nodded and Jack sighed and turned away. He stared off into the distance for a long moment before turning back. "Which way did they go?"

Gwen and Rhys both pointed off in the direction of the offices and Jack headed in that direction. Gwen collapsed onto the sofa next to Rhys.

"I don't even want to imagine being on the wall for that conversation," Rhys commented. Gwen nodded numbly. She watched as Jack disappeared through a doorway. After a moment, she leaned her head on Rhys' shoulder. Clem just sat in a chair, staring off into the dark area of the warehouse.


	16. Chapter 16

First Jack walked across the expanse of the warehouse, heading in the direction that Gwen and Rhys had pointed out to him. He could see two sets of footprints and followed those. They need to talk. All three of them. They owed it to Ianto to work this out. He ducked through a doorway and saw that it was a series of rooms that connected to one another. He passed through three before he saw them together. He paused mid-step, unsure whether to continue. His other self had his arms wrapped around Ianto. Ianto had his head back. They were standing at an angle, and he could see his doppelganger trying to soothe Ianto. Second Jack had heard him and turned his head to look at his mirror image. They stared at one another and Second Jack inclined his head. First Jack walked into the room.

At the sound of another set of footsteps Ianto lifted his head up and turned to look in the direction of the door. He saw his other Jack approaching and he looked at him tiredly.

"Time to have a heart to heart to heart?" Ianto asked with an attempt at a smile. He didn't succeed very well. First Jack approached so he was facing Ianto and his other self.

"Something like that," First Jack said with a nod. "I do have to say that this is a bit surreal," he went on to comment. Ianto could feel Second Jack nodding in agreement.

"What?" Ianto asked. "Never practiced talking into the mirror?" He looked at the Jack opposite to where he was standing and had to agree that it was all a bit surreal. "So what was the response?" He asked First Jack.

First Jack stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "He listened. Whether he kicks it upstairs is anyone's guess. But think they'll go for it because they have nothing to lose. If the alien refuses, then they're back to square one."

Ianto just stared at him. He was feeling a bit fuzzy from lack of sleep. "And if they say yes?"

"Then I go to Thames House and make the 456 an offer," Jack said, stressing his plan with a confident note in his voice which seemed to suggest that the alien could do nothing but accept the offer. He ignored the way Second Jack was rubbing Ianto's chest and shoulders and focused on the Welshman's face.

"And then what?" Ianto asked. "What is the big plan then? How do you convince them that what you tell them is true? And how do they know that what you offer is better than what they already have or want?"

"Like any good pusher, I give them a free sample," Jack said. Ianto nodded.

"Of course. And what is it going to be? A hand, leg, other body part?" Ianto was getting a bit testy with what he perceived Jack's cavalier attitude. He pulled away from Second Jack and leaned forward. "And what makes you think that they'll like it?"

"Because I like to think I'm pretty irresistible," Jack said with a grin. Ianto snorted and shook his head.

"And how do you prove it?" Ianto asked again.

"I know that the military base must have some video of me regenerating. I get them to upload it to the 456 so they can see for themselves. That should be pretty impressive enough for them to go for it," Jack stated. Ianto nodded. That would probably grab their interest.

"All right, let me play devil's advocate and assume for a moment that they take the bait. Why not take both you and the children?" Ianto asked. He was trying to get Jack to think this through. "Why accept just you?"

"Because, that's the deal," Jack said implacably.

"Doesn't mean they have to follow the rules," Ianto pointed out. "It's not like they haven't done this before."

"Which is why I'm not going to walk into that cage unprepared," Jack said with a nod. "Never put your eggs all in one basket. Or an alien tank in this case." Ianto stared at him for a long moment.

"My God, you are serious about planting a bomb inside of yourself," Ianto said in disbelief. Jack stared him in the eye and nodded. "Oh, Jack," Ianto said softly.

First Jack walked up to him and cupped Ianto's face in his hands. "I have to do this."

"No you don't," Ianto said, his voice breaking with the pain of having to lose Jack again. Every time he died, it ripped a hole in him. And that was with knowing he could return. But this time? In a contained space like that there wouldn't be enough of him to piece back together. "There has to be another alternative," he said.

"If so, tell me," Jack said quietly. "Give me an alternative and I'll do it." He looked into Ianto's eyes. There was a long moment of silence and First Jack totally forgot about his mirror image standing behind Ianto. "There isn't one. If there was, we'd be doing it right now."

Ianto closed his eyes, knowing that Jack was right. After a long moment he opened them again and looked at Jack. "Do you honestly think that sacrificing yourself to the 456 will atone for everything wrong you might have done in the past?"

"It will be a start," Jack said. "Ianto, you asked me what's below the surface, and what you didn't know about me."

"Yeah, remember that. You told me that was all there was," Ianto said. He couldn't help keep the note of hurt out of his tone.

"Since what happened up on Game Station, I've been trying to figure it out," Jack said. He moved his hands off of Ianto's face to his shoulders. "Trying to figure out why this would happen. What was the purpose in making me immortal? Because there had to be a reason. A reason for making me suffer. Maybe that is my penance for what I did to my brother," he mused to himself.

"What happened with your brother was an accident, Jack." Ianto told him. He kept on trying to show Jack how it wasn't his fault, but it was something that was so deeply ingrained in Jack's psyche that he didn't think he would ever get through to him about that.

"Then I came to Cardiff and found out how far off I was in terms of the timeline," Jack said. "I thought that perhaps there was something here I needed to do. But all through those years, I couldn't find it. I kept on searching, Ianto. Fighting. There were so many wars. Boer, Boxer, Aro, World War One, World War Two. So many battles. All so senseless, and nothing I did could make a difference. It didn't show me why I was there.

"Then we got to the 21st Century, and I thought that this would be it. Over a hundred years, Ianto. A hundred years of waiting to make a difference. I thought perhaps that it was Abaddon. That he would drain out all of the potential lifeforce within me and that was what it would take to kill him. And you know what? I was happy with that thought. It gave me a purpose. Made me feel like it all had meaning." Jack paused and looked over Ianto's shoulder at his mirror image.

"Then I woke up," Jack said softly. "And I realized that wasn't it." His eyes flickered away from what he saw in Second Jack's eyes. "And then the Doctor came, and I ran. Hoping for answers to questions I didn't even know how to ask. And there came the Master, and the end of the universe. And I made a difference. I helped save humanity. I saved the world. And I thought that is why I needed to be the way I am."

Ianto's heart was aching for the pain he heard in Jack's voice. He knew some of this history, but having it told in such a fashion with the despair in Jack's voice cut him deeply. He reached out and grasped Jack's shoulders. "So much pain," he whispered. "How can one person remain sane through all of that?"

Jack gazed at him steadily for a long moment. "I did what I had to. For a long time I ran from myself, Ianto. I couldn't face the person I was, the type of man I had become. And the Doctor, he made me a better man. He made me think of others instead of myself."

"You made yourself a better man," Ianto said. He felt like he had to get through to Jack. "You changed yourself."

"But in the end, it all came back to haunt me," Jack said, fighting past a lump in his throat. Ianto gazed at him with love and absolute belief in him and he didn't deserve it. "It was because of me that John Hart came to Earth. Because of Gray. And look at the devastation Gray caused. He forced my old partner to help him and devastated the city. Killed Owen and Toshiko. Because of me and what I did." The anguish in Jack's face ripped through Ianto. He gripped Jack tighter and pulled him into his arms. Jack rested his head on Ianto's shoulder, tears starting to flow. "And it's all my fault."

"No," Ianto whispered into his ear. "No it's not."

"And now this. This is my fault," Jack continued. "Because of what I did in 1965, these aliens have come back. You're right. If we stood up to them then, perhaps they wouldn't be back looking for millions of children today."

"Jack, you can't know that," Ianto said. Jack wasn't listening. Ianto held him close and let him cry. Cry as he had for Owen, for Toshiko, and now, for the lost children that he condemned to live forever attached to an alien life form. Second Jack bowed his head, in complete agreement with his other self.

"Do you see why we have to do this?" Second Jack asked Ianto. Ianto stiffened for a moment. He had forgotten all about the other Jack in his need to comfort the man in his arms. He raised his head and turned to look at Second Jack. He saw the same pain mirrored there. The same agony in his eyes, and the same determination to do something to atone for everything that had gone wrong. Ianto pulled his hand off of First Jack's back and extended it towards Second Jack. Tentatively, Second Jack grasped his hand and he pulled him into the embrace, holding them both close.


	17. Chapter 17

The three of them clutched one another, sharing their grief for a long moment. Ianto was sandwiched between the two Jacks. He could feel the body heat from them both as well as the pheromones which could make his head spin at times. A double dose of it at the moment probably wasn't conducive to clear thinking, he thought with a shred of amusement. The slight movement of his shoulders as he tried to suppress a laugh was noticed by both of the Jacks and they simultaneously raised their heads to look at him.

"What?" They echoed at the same time. The sound made Ianto begin to laugh. He looked from one confused face to the other.

"This is madness," Ianto said as his eyes went from one man to the other. "I don't want to lose you. Either of you."

Second Jack stared at him for a long moment. "I so knew you wanted that threesome."

"You think?" First Jack asked and the two Jacks stared at one another with similar expressions on their faces. That made Ianto laugh all the harder.

"It's always the sex, isn't it?" Ianto said, not really expecting a response from either of them. "Why can't it be something else, like love and affection and not wanting to see the man I'm with diced up into little pieces before my eyes?"

"What's wrong with the sex?" First Jack asked. He looked a bit put out at Ianto's comment.

"Well, other than not getting any at the moment," Second Jack responded. They both nodded in unison and Ianto shook his head.

"Hello, world ending here," he stated.

"What did you say to me yesterday?" First Jack asked. He pulled Ianto's head around to face him. "Did you not want to send Rhys out so that we could shag? I distinctly remember you saying that the world is always ending."

"Well, he did have a point," Second Jack said over Ianto's shoulder. "It does have a habit of doing that." Ianto pulled away from the two men and walked away, his hands moving to cover his face.

"I can't decide whether this is my worst nightmare or fantasy, to be honest," Ianto told the two men behind him. He resolutely avoided looking at either of them. "There has to be something so very wrong about this situation."

"I don't know," Second Jack said. He was using the discussion to bury the more painful emotions that had risen. "It's looking pretty right to me at the moment."

"And I am wearing the coat," First Jack teased. Ianto was close enough to bang his head against the wall so he took the opportunity to do so.

"I should know better," Ianto murmured to himself. The stereo echo of Jack's chuckle to either side behind him was unnerving. He heard footsteps behind him and First Jack stopped his head from hitting the wall by putting his hand between Ianto's head and the wall. He turned Ianto to face him, Second Jack by his side.

"Ianto, I'm surprised at you," First Jack said. "I've introduced you to many first experiences. Just think of this as another new one."

"Heck, it will be new for me, too," Second Jack quipped. Ianto looked at him and shook his head at the two of them.

"You're impossible," Ianto said with a sigh. "You know that, right?" The Jacks laughed at him. Ianto just shook his head at them. He looked up at the ceiling. "I can't believe I'm even contemplating this."

First Jack winked at his counterpart and moved in closer to Ianto. He leaned one hand against the wall, reached out to tilt Ianto's face towards him and then he kissed him. "Relax, you'll like it."

Ianto couldn't help but respond to Jack's kiss. He was surprised by the strength of his own reaction, in fact. He wondered if it was due to stress and the up and down emotional rollercoaster he had been on for the past few days. First Jack pulled back and Second Jack reached in to turn Ianto's head in his direction. Then he kissed Ianto. Ianto moaned into the kiss. He closed his eyes and trembled as he felt hands touching him. With his eyes closed, he couldn't tell who was doing what. His thoughts whirled around in his head and he just willed himself not to think. He felt a light touch as fingers stroked his exposed skin, trailed through his hair and traced invisible patterns on his clothes. Lips claimed his own again and he leaned into it, his mouth open to accept the thrust of Jack's tongue against his. When they parted briefly his head was turned and again lips claimed his mouth. It was making his head spin from the dual assault.

A call from off in the distance distracted them. First Jack pulled back and listened. It was Rhys bellowing that Frobisher was in the Gold Command room pitching Jack's idea.

"Damn," First Jack cursed as he pulled back from Ianto. Ianto opened his eyes and he had a dazed look on his face as he tried to focus on the distant voice. Second Jack dropped his head to Ianto's shoulder for a moment as he cursed softly.

"This has to be some sort of a cosmic joke," Second Jack said as he reluctantly withdrew his hands from where he had been working his way into Ianto's trousers. He pulled the zip up and buttoned them again, smiling ruefully at the expression on Ianto's face.

"Tell me about it," First Jack said.

"I just did," Second Jack said. He tapped Ianto on the cheek with his fingers to get him to focus. "Hey, the timing rots but we have to get back there. Especially if there is something from Lois that we need to have you interpret."

"Oh," Ianto responded faintly. It took him a few moments to be able to function again and he ran his hand through his hair as he stepped away from First Jack and started heading towards the doorway. Second Jack stopped him with a touch on his arm.

"Hey," Jack said. "This is a raincheck. We're coming back to this," he promised and leaned in for a hard kiss before pulling back and gently aiming Ianto towards the door. He had to smile at the look on Ianto's face as he dutifully turned and headed back to the rest of the group. First Jack fell into step with Second Jack and they followed their lover out of the office area and back to their work area.


	18. Chapter 18

When Rhys heard the sound of footsteps he looked over Gwen's shoulder and saw the three men heading in their direction. He did a double take as he saw Ianto's disheveled appearance. First Jack noticed Rhys' expression and he halted Ianto from going further. Turning Ianto towards him, he inspected him.

"What?" Ianto asked. He had shifted gears and had been focused on getting back over to the laptop. Jack reached up and smoothed Ianto's hair before adjusting his clothing.

"Don't want to give anyone the right impression," First Jack told him with a smile. Second Jack had nodded and watched as First Jack adjusted Ianto's clothing to make him more presentable.

"Oh God, like anyone cares at this point," Ianto said with an exasperated shrug. The two men chuckled and he shook his head. Turning around, he headed back over to where Gwen was sitting at the console with Rhys and Clem watching.

"Done with your shenanigans, are you?" Gwen asked without looking around.

"Never got to start, really," Second Jack complained. Gwen shot him a look before turning towards First Jack and Ianto. Shrugging, she turned back to the display.

"They just started," Gwen told them. They could hear one of the cabinet members asking Frobisher about who Torchwood was and why they thought they could help. The Prime Minister watched impassively as Frobisher explained Jack's offer. Ianto leaned forward and concentrated on the pad as Lois wrote down what Frobisher was saying. The group began discussing the merits of the offer and whether there would be any point in bothering. Gwen watched in disbelief.

"I don't get it," she muttered. "It's like they don't even want to try."

"Maybe they're afraid that Jack is a loose cannon and that once he gets in there with the alien, he'll spill the beans," Rhys suggested. Ianto and First Jack exchanged glances at the mention of beans and Ianto smothered a smile. As they listened in on the conversation, it was obvious that those who knew the past were thinking in that direction.

"Gwen, ask Lois if she's willing to be our representative," First Jack instructed. "Ask her if she's willing to tell them that we have been recording these proceedings and so have enough evidence to show the public and blow this whole thing sky high if they don't do as we ask."

Gwen typed on the keyboard and explained the situation to Lois. When they saw her shake her head Gwen went on to explain what the alternatives were. Lois began scribbling on her pad. Ianto peered closer.

"She's afraid of what they'll do to her when they find out she's been working for us," he said quietly.

"Tell her we'll protect her," First Jack stated. Gwen turned to look at him with her hands poised over the keyboard.

"And how are we supposed to be able to do that?" She asked.

"Just do it," Jack ordered. She turned back to the keyboard and typed. She went on to implore Lois that this was the best chance they had at the moment and that they needed to be able to do it.

"Now the only question is whether she'll do it," Rhys aid. He had seen the camera nod as Lois finally agreed. A moment later, Lois stood and got the Prime Minister's attention. From the looks of the shocked faces about the room, they could assume she was telling them that the proceedings had been recorded and that Torchwood essentially had them over a barrel.

Gwen watched nervously. She wished she could hear what Lois was saying. From the garbled translations as the contact lens cameras tried to focus on each of the people protesting in the room, there was a fierce argument going on. Eventually the Prime Minister held up his hands to stop people from talking. He turned towards Lois.

"It seems we're at a disadvantage. I want to speak to Harkness directly to find out what his idea is exactly and how he can possibly think that he alone can stop this. Have him ring my mobile and I'll route it to the in phone system," Minister Green said, his face expressionless. "And we will not track the source of the call."

"Oh, I wish I could believe that," Gwen said. First Jack nodded.

"Same here. I'll be back," he said. He turned with a swirl of his greatcoat and headed for the doorway to go make the call. Gwen typed that Jack would be ringing in shortly and Lois relayed that to the group in the Gold Command room. They could hear the car starting up and Ianto glanced in the direction of the door before turning his attention back to the screen.

A short time later they could see Minister Green pull a mobile out of his pocket and answer it. It was obviously Jack, and a moment later he patched the call through to the in room conferencing system.

Across the Thames, Jack stood in a busy shopping centre garage and walked, hoping that the metal in the structure would give him some protection if they did indeed track him. Though there was a part of him who wanted them to find him so he could just move onto the next step. They were running out of time.

"Captain Harkness," Prime Minister Green said drily. "You really don't know when it's appropriate to stay in your place, do you?"

"Can't keep a good man down, Brian," Jack said jovially. Back at the Hub 2, Lois was transcribing the conversation for the Torchwood team and Ianto was translating what she wrote for Gwen, Rhys and Second Jack.

"Hmmm," Minister Green responded. "You have us at a bit of a disadvantage, sir. Frankly, I'm shocked."

"Shocked that I found a way to do it, or shocked that you actually got caught saving your own hide?" Jack retorted. "Listen, as much as I love chatting, we have some business to discuss here, Brian." The Prime Minister's eyes narrowed that the cavalier use of his Christian name. "Let me tell you what I have in mind."

The Prime Minister's gaze swept around the table, seeing his cabinet frozen in place while they listened to the conversation. "It doesn't appear that we have much choice, do we?"

"No, you don't," Jack responded. "And if you didn't try to take out my organization in the first place, we very well might not be in the situation we are in now. As I well know, you can't hide what happened in the past. It always comes back to bite you in the arse."

The Prime Minister turned to face John Frobisher. "Perhaps. Tell me, why do you think that you can convince the 456 that you are worth taking over millions of children? Frankly, I think you overestimate your appeal."

"Haven't had any complaints yet," Jack quipped before turning serious. "I want to make them an offer which at the very least will intrigue them. And I think the idea of having a renewable source for their addiction will be enough to get me inside that tank."

"What renewable resource?" One of the other cabinet members asked and the Prime Minister gave him an annoyed glance at the interruption.

"Me," Jack said. "General Pierce, members of the cabinet, at this moment I represent the only hope you have of stopping this. Do you know why they want the children?" Silence met his question. "Didn't think so. You asked, and they didn't answer, did they? They just showed you that child grafted onto its body. A child who has been like that since 1965." He could hear gasps from some members of the cabinet. "What do they need the children for, you asked? I'll tell you in two words. Chemical dependency. Those children provide some chemical that the 456 want. Consider them a drug, and right now, if I don't get in there, you will be the pushers giving them millions of children.

"Can you look in the mirror and condemn the world's children to that fate?" Jack asked. His voice echoed in the room. "Look, we're running out of time. Let me get in and speak with the 456. Let me make an offer. Show them the films from the military base where you were holding me. That will be proof enough of the claims I'll make them. Heck, I'll even offer them a sample."

"And even if they accept," John Frobisher asked. "What makes you think they won't just take you and still want the children?"

"Because I have no intention of just walking into that tank and assuming they're going to honor the agreement," Jack said. "Think of me as the Trojan horse. I'll go in there as a booby trap and take them out. Send a message to the rest of their race that we will not be threatened."

Back at the Hub 2 Ianto stumbled over reading Lois' shorthand. Gwen looked up at him as he faltered and she saw the sheen of tears in his eyes. Ianto swallowed and read out the last thing that Lois had written down. Gwen reached over and covered the hand that Ianto had braced against the desk. He bowed his head. Rhys turned and looked at Second Jack.

"You'll seriously do this?" He asked the man standing off to one side. Jack met his gaze and nodded. "Kill yourself?"

"Better me than thirty million children," Second Jack said in a calm voice.

"And would you really stay dead?" Rhys asked.

"I intend to walk in with enough explosives to make sure I take them out. There probably won't be enough of me left to regenerate," Jack said in a steady voice. He was in complete agreement with First Jack's idea. In fact, he figured they would fight over which one of them went in and did it. He resolutely kept his eyes off of Ianto's reaction.

Rhys turned his attention back to the conversation which was still going on at Downing Street. Jack had explained that his idea was to have another explosive planted within him and to have the military trigger it once he was inside the tank. There was a shocked silence in the Gold Command headquarters when the group absorbed the fact that he was willing to sacrifice himself in order to eliminate the alien menace.

"What about retaliation?" Denise Riley asked. "What if there are more of them up there and they retaliate?"

"I don't think there's more than one," Jack said. "I think this is a single user who is acting as a go-between for others of its race. The manner of transportation into the tank suggests matter transmogrification – they travel by energy. There is no ship up there. "

"How do you know this?" General Pierce asked. "You're making assumptions and don't know. They could be in constant contact with others of their race and there could be an armada up there that we know nothing about."

"General, I've been to more places than you could possibly imagine," Jack said, putting all of the persuasive qualities he had into his voice. "I've traveled with the Doctor. A Timelord, and an alien from another world. A man who has lived for almost a thousand years and has traveled to places you wouldn't believe existed. I've seen the end of the universe and the end of life on Earth. And every time there's been a choice that could be made to stop what happened."

"And where is the Doctor in all this?" The Prime Minister asked.

"Well, if you hadn't blown up my base, I may have been able to reach him," Jack said in a harsh tone. "But thanks to you and your paranoia about covering the government's collective arses, we lost our one chance of contacting him. No, we're on our own on this one." Jack paused and took a deep breath.

"Look, what have you've got to lose? Take a recess and let me in there. I'll claim to be acting on my own so that if it does go wrong, you can claim to know nothing about it and go do whatever it is you have to do. But if I'm right, you'll never have to deal with these creatures ever again."

Silence reigned as the group considered his words. Prime Minister Green looked at the general who nodded, and then he looked over at Frobisher. The secretary to the Home Office just stared back. Green pressed the mute button. "John, you know him better than the rest of us. Do you think he is right and can he do this?"

John thought back to everything he knew about the man known as Jack Harkness. How he had been impossible to kill, and that even now he and his team were still fighting to stop this menace, despite everything the government had done to them.

"Yes, sir, I do believe he can do this," he said quietly. "He makes a compelling argument and if we pitch it the way he suggests, we can claim we had no knowledge of what he was doing if it goes poorly." The rest of the group around the table nodded. Green took his finger off the mute button.

"All right, Captain. You'll get your chance. But if this goes wrong, it's all on your head," he stated.

"I don't think that will be a problem," Jack stated in an even tone. "Thank you, Prime Minister. I only have two other requests."

"Making demands are we now?" The Prime Minister was getting testy.

"Yes, if you want this done right," Jack said. "I need access to whatever explosive you had the MI5 use the last time so we can make sure we take this thing out once and for all. And if I'm going to do this, you free my family. Send them to my friends, and I'll walk in happy knowing that they're safe."

Green met Frobisher's gaze and they both nodded. Alice Carter was of no use to them if Harkness blew himself up. Idly, Frobisher wondered if this time he'd stay dead.

"Done," Prime Minister Green said. "They're being held at the same place you were. Go there and our operatives will wire you up. We'll also release your daughter and grandson at the same time."

"That's all I ask," Jack said with a note of satisfaction in his voice.

"I just hope this works," Green went on. "Because if it doesn't and you've made things worse, I'll go find whatever is left of you and kill you again."

"Don't worry about that, Brian," Jack said confidently. "This will work." He hung up the mobile and leaned against the car. There was no sign of pursuit, so it looked like the Prime Minister had told the truth and kept his promise. It was a start. He needed to get back to the team and work out the details of getting his family safe before heading into Thames House.


	19. Chapter 19

Back at Hub 2 the group was quiet as the cabinet meeting continued with their alternative planning in case the Torchwood plan didn't work out the way Jack thought it would. Second Jack was sitting at a laptop doing some typing and searching of the databases. He turned the laptop screen away from Gwen when she tried to look and she frowned at him, but he ignored it.

Ianto continued to translate what Lois wrote. They didn't dare make her leave after her revelation. She was their connection to Torchwood and so the group left her to observe what was going on. In some ways, it was all moot at this point.

It took First Jack over a half hour to return. The group by the computer stopped paying attention the minute he came through the door. He shot a winning smile in their direction as he sauntered over to the desk.

"That went well," he said. He saw that none of them smiled back, other than his other self. The look that they exchanged was one of satisfaction.

"Yes, it's well if you like the idea of blowing yourself sky high," Ianto said drily.

"Ianto, we've been through this," Jack said softly. Ianto turned to face him and they stared at one another for a long moment before he turned away towards the computer again. He didn't say anything. Gwen bit her lip.

"So," Rhys asked. "Which one of you goes in with the 456?" The two Jacks stared at one another and both shrugged. Gwen stared from one to the other.

"It is only one of you who plan on going in there, yes?" She asked. The two Jacks didn't respond and Ianto turned and walked away.

"Ianto, where are you going?" First Jack asked.

"I can't watch this," he muttered. "You're going to do whatever it is you're planning on doing, but I don't have to watch you commit suicide." He stalked away, his shoes echoing off into the distance.

"Damn it, Jack!" Gwen said as she rose out of her chair and turned so that she faced them both. "Are you always an arse or do you have to work for it?" Jack opened his mouth but she didn't let him respond. "Do you delight in twisting the knives into other people's hearts? Do you give a damn that for some strange reason which I have yet to figure out people care for you and don't want to see you do these sorts of things? Can't you get it through that thick unbreakable skull of yours that when you do stuff like this it hurts others?" She raised her arm and thrust it in the direction where Ianto had headed. "For days now you have been tearing that man's heart into pieces! It's not right, and I won't stand it!" She practically stamped her booted heel down on the ground, she was so angry at him.

"Gwen," Rhys said softly, trying to get her to calm down. She turned and glared at him and the rest of the words he was about to say died before he could say them. Rhys put his hands up. There was no reasoning with her when she was like this.

"Look, I know you feel guilty for what happened," Gwen went on, her voice lowered so that she was no longer shouting. "I feel for you, I really do. But what is done is done. You can't go back and change the past. You can only move forward. And right now, this thing you're planning on doing is breaking Ianto apart. Is that what you want? Is it?"

"No, of course not," First Jack said. He had seen the look in Ianto's eyes as he had turned away. "But this is our only chance to fight this thing. I don't have another alternative."

Gwen stared at him for a long moment. "You're really going to do this," she asked him. He nodded. She turned to the other Jack. "And what about you?"

Second Jack sighed. "I'm not sure." He looked at first Jack. "We need to talk." First Jack nodded.

"So you're just going to let Ianto walk away while you do this?" Gwen asked. She was incensed and Rhys had to hold her back.

"No, we're going to go talk to him," First Jack said. He pivoted on his heel and walked off in the direction that Ianto had headed. Second Jack got off the chair and followed him. Gwen stared after them.

"Leave it," Rhys advised. He could feel the tension in her body and knew she was ready to fight Jack all night if she had to. "Let them handle it."

The Jacks spent some time looking for Ianto. It was getting late and First Jackwas aware of the passing time. He finally wandered to the back end of the warehouse again and knew where Ianto was, his other self following behind. First Jack headed over to the doorway where they had spent some time earlier and sure enough, Ianto was sitting on the desk, his back to the wall. He had his eyes closed.

The two Jacks paused in the doorway. Ianto said nothing. He was trying to concentrate on keeping himself together.

"Ianto, I'm sorry," First Jack finally said. "I really don't see another solution."

Second Jack moved across the room to where Ianto was sitting. He reached out and put his hands on either side of Ianto's legs and leaned as close as he could. "Ianto, I'm sorry. You don't know how unbelievably sorry I am that we're doing this to you." Ianto opened his eyes, the pain evident within them.

"I know you think this is the only solution. I wish I could come up with an alternative," he said hoarsely. "But it will kill me to see you do this, Jack. I can't watch it. I just can't."

"I know," Second Jack said. First Jack walked further into the room and stood next to the desk.

"Ianto, I don't want you to watch what will happen. I know it bothers you every time you see me die," First Jack began and Ianto turned his gaze to look at him. "I don't want you to be hurt by this."

"But I will and I am," Ianto said to him. "And this time, you're going to make it so this time you don't come back." Ianto's voice broke and he swallowed and turned his head so he wasn't looking at either Jack. "I don't understand, Jack. Is it because you feel like doing this will atone for everything you've done in the past?"

"Ianto, I'm trying to be practical here," First Jack said, trying to keep to a reasonable tone. "We already agree that this seems to be our only solution. I don't know what's going to take this thing out, so I need to be prepared. I need to make sure that child doesn't suffer any more than it has already," Jack said. His voice trembled as he finished his comment. Ianto turned to look at him and he closed his eyes again. He could see his own pain relfected there.

After a long moment of silence, Ianto opened his eyes and turned to Second Jack. "And what about you?"

Second Jack stared back at Ianto. "What about me?" He knew what Ianto was asking. "I'd be lying if I told you I didn't want to be the one to do this." He admitted. "But we both can't do it. One of us stays behind in case we're wrong and this doesn't work."

Ianto closed his eyes again and fought the burning sensation he could feel. "And what about us?" A moment later he felt lips against his own and he had to struggle not to respond to it. Second Jack pulled back with a sigh.

"That's up to you," Second Jack said softly. "Whichever one of us stays behind feels the same way as we did before all of this started."

"And what do you feel, Jack?" Ianto asked. He was almost afraid of the answer.

"Do you really have to ask?" Second Jack asked. Ianto opened his eyes.

"At this point, yes," he said. Second Jack nodded and leaned close so that their foreheads were against one another and they were looking directly into one another's eyes.

"You mean the world to me, Ianto Jones," Second Jack said. "And once this is over, I want to prove that to you." Ianto stared at Jack for a long moment before allowing himself to reach up one hand and touch Jack's neck. Then he kissed Jack. When they separated Ianto smiled sadly. Jack still couldn't say the actual words, but then he had a hard time saying them back. They were quite a pair, the two of them, he reflected.

"I just wish it didn't take the end of the world again to get you to say that to me," Ianto said. "We're really hopeless, you know that?"

"Oh, don't give up, Ianto," Second Jack said with a tiny smile crossing his face. "I'm sure there's a path of redemption for us." Ianto's smile lost that edge of sadness as he allowed Jack to cajole him into a better mental place. Jack pulled himself up on the desk and wrapped his arm around Ianto's shoulders. Ianto leaned into him and then turned to look at First Jack.

"So you'll do it?" He asked the man in front of him. First Jack nodded. Ianto let his gaze travel over the familiar clothes, from the boots to the trousers, dark blue shirt, braces and vest peeking out from the open collar before moving up to meet Jack's eyes. "When?"

"I need to get in touch with the base and see what they'll need to get everything set up, but I figure the sooner we move, the better," First Jack said. He was trying to keep his feelings in check. Ianto didn't need this right now. But seeing him in the other Jack's embrace bothered him. He had to be honest with himself and deep down inside he wanted to be the one holding Ianto right now. "I want this alien threat gone."

"As do we all," Ianto said. He could see the tenseness in Jack's stance and he knew that probably seeing him with the other Jack was bothering him. He had his hand on Second Jack's leg and he squeezed it lightly as he pushed away from the other man so that he slid off the desk. He walked over to First Jack, reached up and cupped his face. Then he kissed him. Jack had his eyes closed when Ianto pulled back.

"What can I do to help?" He asked.

"Another one of those would be nice," First Jack said with a smile. Ianto obliged by kissing him again. "We could do this all night," Jack said. Ianto shook his head.

"You are impossible. You know that, right?" Ianto asked. Jack grinned at him. He decided that they had to be up front and deal with the situation. "Seriously. What can I do to help?"

"A shag would help," Jack quipped.

"Jack, please. Are you saving the world immediately or waiting until we get it on? Because if it's the latter, well, then screw the world, let's do it." Ianto said.

"That's the spirit," Jack said with a grin. He reached for Ianto and pulled him close. "I think we have some time." Ianto closed his eyes and leaned against Jack. He could feel Jack's need quite clearly.

"You just want that damn threesome," Ianto muttered. Jack shook his head. "No?"

"No. I'm not sharing you, even with myself right now." Jack looked over Ianto's shoulder and Second Jack dropped off the desk.

"I think it's time for me to go," he said. "I have some work to do," Second Jack said and he walked out the door.


	20. Chapter 20

They could hear the sound of his footsteps fading away. Jack remained with his arms around Ianto. The silence stretched out for a long moment before Ianto reached up to stroke his fingers through Jack's hair.

"You're really going to do this," he said. It wasn't a question and Jack met his gaze and nodded. "Oh, Jack."

"Ianto," Jack breathed. He stared at the man in his arms. The man who had pulled him out of the depths of despair countless times before. The man who held him as he revived, time and again. And the man who was going to help send him to his death. He wondered if this time it would be permanent. Just how many pieces did he have to be in before he didn't come back? Did vaporization mean that there was nothing left to regenerate? He shook himself to dispel the thoughts. Now was not the time for maudlin thoughts when he had this man in his arms. He wanted to make the most of it.

"You know something?" Jack asked. Ianto stared at him intently and shook his head. "If this works, then I'll be happy. Happy that we've stopped them. Happy that we've saved the children. And happy that for once in my life, I might be able to go first and not have to see someone I love..." There was a catch in his voice as he paused, unable to say the word and Ianto gaped at his comment. It was the first time he had ever heard that word come out of Jack's mouth.

Ianto reached up and cradled Jack's face in his hands. "How much pain I see in your eyes," he whispered softly. "How many people have you had to watch die? It must be so hard." Jack closed his eyes and a moment later felt the brush of Ianto's lips against his own. "I'm sorry Jack. How hard this must be for you, trapped here watching people you care for die." He pulled back enough to look at Jack.

He could see the lines etched in Jack's face. Normally, he would try to hide how he felt behind a layer of bravado and cheer. In front of Ianto, he had learned to drop the mask, and Ianto saw the real man underneath. Though he didn't tell Ianto everything, he didn't try to hide how he felt. Even if he couldn't often say it. Ianto started feathering kisses on Jack's face. First his forehead, then eyelids, cheeks, nose and finally back to his mouth. Ianto pushed past Jack's closed lips, giving everything he could into that kiss. When they separated the look on Jack's face made Ianto inhale softly. He looked like a drowning man who had been sent a lifeline. The yearning expression on Jack's face cut through Ianto's reticence at being intimate with the others nearby.

He pulled Jack in for one of those searing kisses like they had shared the day before. Ianto wrapped his arms around Jack and could feel him trembling in reaction. Jack pulled Ianto tight against him and they ground their hips against one another.

"Ianto," Jack whispered into the other man's ear as Ianto started undoing the buttons on his shirt. He pushed Jack. Jack stumbled backwards until he hit the wall. Ianto kept on pushing, pressing his leg in between Jack's and holding him in place as he slipped his hands under Jack's coat. When Jack tried to speak again he smothered whatever Jack was going to say with his lips. His mouth on Jack's, he demanded a response which Jack was happy to give. Ianto wasn't thinking. He was reacting to Jack and he wanted to erase that look on Jack's face that he had seen earlier. When they pulled apart for a moment they were panting in unison. Ianto stared into Jack's eyes for a long moment before pulling his hands out from under Jack's coat as he reached up to caress his neck.

"Not the most accommodating place we've ever done it, but there's always time for a first," Ianto said in a low growl. Jack looked about the bare room. Other than the desk, there was nothing.

"Not many other places around here that would be much better," Jack said in response. "What about…?" He asked with a head jerk towards the doorway. Ianto's eyes flickered over there and back again. They were far enough away that hopefully no noises would carry to the group at the other end of the warehouse. But this was also the place where Gwen had found them before. He didn't fancy her coming to look and finding them in a compromising position.

Ianto inhaled and let the breath out before giving Jack a hard kiss. "Don't go away," he said. He let go of Jack and went over to the door. Moving an old box out of the way, he shoved the warped door over so that it was closed. "There."

"Want to move the desk over as well?" Jack asked in an amused tone. Ianto just gave him a look. "Or do we use that for something else?"

"Your coat will do," Ianto said with a nod. Jack smiled with amusement.

"Kinky, I like that." He said as Ianto stalked back over to him and pulled him away from the wall. Together, they pulled his coat off and he handed it to Ianto. The younger man turned and scanned the room. The cleanest area happened to be behind the door, since the act of closing it had scraped the dirt out into the hallway. Ianto snapped the coat and laid it on the floor. Kicking off his shoes, he stepped onto the lining of the coat and gestured to Jack.

"Come here," he commanded. Jack grinned. He loved it when Ianto was decisive about something. Especially when that something was sex. He came over to where Ianto was standing until the other man put out a hand to stop him. "There's good." Jack was standing right at the edge of his coat. "Shoes off." Jack raised an eyebrow. "You are not stepping on this coat with your boots on, Jack," Ianto admonished him. Jack chuckled and reached down to untie his boots. As he leant over he could feel Ianto's hands on his back and rear end. He shook his head as Ianto reached between his legs from behind and stroked him through his trousers.

"You are such a tease," Jack told him as he stepped out of one boot onto the coat and started working on the laces of the other. This created a larger gap for Ianto to work with and he stretched his other arm around Jack's front and stroked him there as well. Jack bit off a groan at the sensation Ianto was causing and he paused for a long moment, unable to focus on the simple act of untying his boot. Ianto moved his hands again and started pulling Jack's shirt out of his trousers. With Ianto's hands otherwise occupied, he was finally able to loosen the ties enough to get the other boot off.

Pulling his foot out of the boot he stepped onto the coattails and stood up again. Ianto was behind him running his hands along the front of Jack's vest. At some point he had divested Jack of his braces, which Jack didn't remember happening. Jack leaned back into Ianto's embrace and looked down to watch Ianto's fingers undoing his belt, button and zip before sliding his hands inside Jack's boxers. Jack let out a moan and his head fell back onto Ianto's shoulder as the other man finally set him free.

"Where's Ianto?" Gwen demanded when she saw the other Jack – the one wearing the tan trousers and light blue shirt as opposed to the one wearing the dark blue trousers and matching shirt – walking back over to where she was sitting at the laptop.

"He's busy," Second Jack said without looking in Gwen's direction. His mouth was set in a line and he pulled out a chair and sat down at one of the free computers. He logged into the Torchwood system and began typing something that she couldn't see.

"Busy? Doing what?" She asked. Jack just glanced at her and away again. "We've got a lot to do if we're going to be able to get everything set up in time. Lois was able to get us the contact information for the people at the base. There's that woman Johnson in charge. She's the person you need to talk to."

"I'll give a call in a bit," Jack said absently. He hacked into the databases for the 456 project and looked at the schematics for the alien tank. There were details that he and his counterpart needed to know if they were going to do this properly. He heard Gwen talking behind him but just ignored her. He wasn't going to answer her questions and right now, he needed to give Ianto and the other Jack as much time as he could with one another. He owed it to his other self, as a dying man's last wish. If Ianto chose to give him that comfort, who was he to argue? He did feel jealous, but on several fronts. One was Ianto. The other was that he wanted to be the one to take the 456 out. He could have one, but not the other. He closed his eyes for a long moment as the schematic blurred in front of his eyes.

"Who's up for cheese on toast?" Rhys asked. Gwen shook her head. "What? You lot would starve if I weren't here!" Gwen looked over at her husband and saw the annoyed expression on his face.

"You're right love, we would," she said in a soothing tone. It took a lot to upset her husband, and she knew that the tensions had been running high amongst the group. "I'd love some."

"Thank you," Rhys said as he turned back to his makeshift stove. "What about you Jack?"

"Yeah, anything is fine," Jack said. He listened to Rhys muttering in the background and he smiled. It sounded so normal. His glance slid over to the sofa where Clem was rocking and shuddering, twitching and moaning to himself. He resolutely looked away. He would never be able to look at the man without feeling guilty for what he had done. Snatches of words drifted in his direction and he looked over at Gwen to see if she was paying attention. She wasn't, and he sighed in relief. Clem had definitely been affected by his close contact with the aliens in the past and it was obvious that his psychic radar was on full. Clem was muttering about men and sex and Jack had to keep his face turned away from Gwen. He was grateful when Rhys started singing a traditional Welsh tune, thankfully drowning out Clem's muttering in the process.


	21. Chapter 21

At the other end of the warehouse Jack and Ianto lay curled together on top of Jack's coat, Jack's head resting on Ianto's arm as a pillow while Ianto spooned him from behind. He closed his eyes and felt lips caress his naked shoulder. Ianto's other arm was snaked over his chest and under his arm, holding him close. He moved his hand to cover Ianto's which was lightly caressing his chest as they lay together. Jack entwined his fingers in Ianto's and squeezed them lightly.

"How much time do we have?" Ianto asked, his lips tickling Jack's ear. A moment later Jack felt the wet touch of Ianto's tongue against his earlobe.

"As much as we need," Jack said.

"Forever, then?" Ianto asked him. Jack chuckled.

"Not quite," Jack responded. He could hear Ianto sigh as he rested his chin on Jack's neck. Jack thought that position had to be awkward so he tried to turn around onto his back without pushing either of them off the edges of the coat. It was a good thing it spread so wide because it certainly had proven convenient. He turned around and pulled Ianto over so he was lying on top to keep them both on the coat. "You know something?"

"What?" Ianto asked as he looked down at Jack. Though he was still tired, their lovemaking had been invigorating. All of those pent up emotions pushing through, he thought.

"You take this coat fetish to a new height," Jack said with a grin. Ianto matched his smile as he rested his chin on his hands which were folded together on Jack's chest.

"It's a good thing neither of us is allergic to wool or it would have proven to be a bit embarrassing," Ianto said. Jack laughed out loud at his comment. When he subsided he looked up at Ianto. His eyes traced familiar features that he had looked at so many times before and he knew that this would be their last time together. At least for this version of him. He reached up and cupped his hand against Ianto's cheek before drawing him closer for a kiss. Ianto was very obliging in kissing him, shifting upwards so that he was in a better position to do so. Jack threaded his fingers through Ianto's hair and kept the kiss going, enjoying the tangle of tongues and the exploration of each other's mouths. Ianto had slipped his elbows down to either side of Jack's head as they kissed and when he pulled back he smiled down at Jack.

Jack smiled up at him, cherishing this moment together. It was something that was his alone, and an experience the other Jack would never have in this form, unless Ianto told him about it. Somehow, he didn't think that would be the case.

"Penny for your thoughts," Ianto said softly. He saw something indefinable in Jack's eyes and he wondered what was going on inside of that head of his. Jack just gave a minute shake of his head, not willing to share his thoughts. Ianto reached up with his hand and stroked it through Jack's hair. "Being stubborn again, I see."

"Not me," Jack protested softly. He was just enjoying this moment that they had together. The feel of Ianto's body resting on his own, the taste of him as they kissed. Even the hard concrete under his coat. It was a moment in time that he could lock within his heart, like others he had had with this remarkable man over the years. "I don't know where you get that idea."

Ianto snorted in response. "Oh, if you only knew," he said drily. He smiled down at Jack, glad that they had this moment together. He looked down at Jack, aware of the passing of time, and how little they had together. "Jack."

"Yeah," Jack responded. He was drawing lazy circles on Ianto's back as they lay stretched out on his coat.

"Thank you," Ianto said. He could see the flicker of surprise in Jack's eyes as he glanced up at him. "Thank you for the time we've had together." Jack opened his mouth and Ianto placed his fingers against Jack's lips. "You brought me out of the depths of despair and gave my life meaning at a time when I didn't think that was possible."

"Ianto, please don't," Jack pleaded. He didn't want to hear this. Didn't want to think of goodbyes being said. They had already said them when they had made love without saying a word. Ianto looked down at him and saw in Jack's eyes what he didn't want to say himself. There was more he wanted to say, but instead he leaned down and gave Jack a long, drawn out kiss. In that kiss he tried to put all of his feelings and words that Jack didn't want to hear. Jack clutched at him, fighting tears as they kissed. This time when they broke the kiss Ianto just laid his cheek against Jack's.

"Ianto, I…" His throat closed up on the words.

"I know," Ianto murmured into his ear. Jack wrapped his arms around Ianto and held him tight. "You don't have to tell me." They lay for a long moment, listening to the quiet in their little end of the warehouse. The time stretched out until finally Ianto sighed. "If you're going to do this, we can't stay here all night."

Jack hesitated. He really didn't want to leave, but he knew that time was marching onwards, and that there was much to do to put his plan in motion. "Are you going to be okay with this?"

"No, but I accept it," Ianto told him. "I know why you have to do this and I know it's our best chance at stopping this menace." He brought his head up and looked down at Jack. "You wouldn't be who you are if you didn't choose to go diving down the dragon's maw at full tilt."

Jack smiled at Ianto's description. "At least I'll have one hell of a lance with me when I do it." He gazed up at Ianto and reached up to stroke the hair off of his forehead. "I'm sorry it has to be this way."

"As am I," Ianto said. "But I won't stop you from what you have to do. I just hope to God it works."

"It will work," Jack said confidently. Ianto shifted and moved off to his side to get dressed. Jack scooted over to the far edge of the coat and watched as Ianto began gathering their discarded clothing and separated it. Ianto worked in his usual efficient manner, and when he offered his hand, Jack took it and let himself be pulled up so that they were standing facing one another. "Thank you."

"Get your clothes on," Ianto said as he turned away with a shake of his head. "You certainly can't go out of this room looking like that, and I can't afford the distraction if I'm going to get anything worthwhile accomplished over the next few hours."

Jack grinned at his brisk comment and started to get dressed himself. Soon they were as neat as they were going to get, all evidence of what happened tucked away under their clothes. Ianto stepped into his shoes as he moved off the coat and he retrieved the boot that Jack had kicked off in his haste to get onto the coat. The two men shared a smile as Jack put it on his foot before moving so Ianto could pick up the coat. He shook it out and inspected it critically.

"Jack, the things you do to this coat. I mean, really," he said in a despairing tone. Jack's jaw dropped open.

"Me?" He said in surprise. "Wait a minute…" Ianto held up his hand to stop him.

"Don't deny it. You are just hard on this coat," Ianto said. He shook his head and held the coat out for Jack to wear. "At least the outside sheds the dirt. Mostly," he commented as he smoothed the material on Jack's shoulders. Jack chuckled. He knew exactly what Ianto was up to and he went along with it.

"Good thing there's a steady supply you can work with, then," he said as he turned around to face the other man. Ianto inspected him and finally gave a nod.

"You'll have to do," he said. He stared into Jack's eyes for a long moment, neither of them saying another. In an unspoken accord, they clasped one another in a hard hug. No more needed to be said. When they separated, Jack nodded once and turned towards the door. He dragged it open with a loud scrape which seemed to echo everywhere. He stifled a chuckle at Ianto's wince. It did sound loud. With a shrug and a grin, Jack moved through the doorway and waited for Ianto to follow behind him.


	22. Chapter 22

Together, the two men made their way back across the warehouse. The sounds of talking grew louder and when they finally got close enough to hear, they saw that Second Jack, Rhys and Gwen were looking at something on the display in front of Second Jack. The three looked up at the sound of approaching foorsteps.

"Well, it's about time," Gwen said. "We need to get a move on if this is going to happen." She had argued with Second Jack about the need for one of the Jacks to physically go in with an explosive, but she knew that there wasn't another solution. By now, she was resigned to the idea and from the look on Ianto's face; she could see that he was, too.

"What do we have?" First Jack asked. Ianto moved around the makeshift desk and looked at what was on the computer screen. One display showed the schematics for the alien tank, along with information about the atmosphere, as well as environmental controls. Another display showed the military base and there was a personnel file of a hard looking woman who seemed to glare into the camera for the photo that had been taken of her. The two men stood behind the others. Clem was asleep on the sofa, worn out.

"Here's the tank," Second Jack said and First Jack peered over his shoulder intently to read the information there. "I figure that whatever they used to take out the Hub should be sufficient. If you can make sure you're near here," Second Jack said with a finger pointing towards the area of the environmental controls. "Even if the tank holds up in the blast, taking out the atmospheric controls should ensure that its buddies can't use the tank in the future." First Jack nodded.

"Good," he murmured. He turned his attention to the other screen. "Ah, Ms. Johnson." He smiled as he stared at the information in her file. "The thorn in our side. Nice looking thorn," he said. Ianto sighed and shook his head. "What?" He protested. "I can appreciate a good looking woman!"

"You always were one for the black widow type," Ianto muttered darkly and the two Jacks laughed. Rhys was looking from one to the other, his eyes circling about between all three men as they spoke. He shook his head in wonder. This must be how Torchwood was – banter and quips in the face of adversity.

"All right, this is what we're going to do," First Jack said decisively. He laid out the plan to contact Johnson and go up to the base to get wired. Ianto insisted on going with him so he could get Jack's daughter and grandson out of there to a safe place.

"Will you bring them back here?" Gwen asked. Ianto shook his head.

"No, we don't want them to see what's going to happen, and I'm going to have to explain what's going on with Jack," he said.

"Oh, Alice is so going to love that," First Jack said drily. "She can't stand one of me. Two of me, she'll run screaming for the hills." Gwen put a sympathetic hand on his arm and he smiled wryly down at her.

"She doesn't hate you Jack," Gwen said softly. Jack sighed.

"No, probably not," he admitted. "But she resents the hell out of me." Gwen tilted her head and he continued. "I couldn't save her mother, and she's already cursed me for looking younger than she does." He sighed. "Stephen doesn't know I'm his grandfather, by the way." The group was quiet as he made that statement. After a moment, he shook himself. "Anyway, from the base, I'll get airlifted to Thames House where I have my little tête à tête with our unwanted guest. Ianto, can you please go get what we need to take with us?" Ianto nodded and headed off to where they had some supplies.

"You'll go alone?" Gwen asked. First Jack nodded decisively. Gwen looked from him to where Ianto was sorting through some ammunition and back again. "But…"

"I need you here to monitor what's going on. Make sure that there are no external communications, though I really don't think there will be," First Jack said before dropping his voice lower. "I don't want Ianto to see what's going to happen. I owe it to him to spare him that." Gwen looked up at him and nodded.

"You're really going to do this," she said. It wasn't a question, but a statement. Jack nodded. "And leave us your other self."

"He's my insurance," First Jack said. "In case I've misjudged this, though I don't think I have. But if I'm wrong, then he'll be able to take over."

"You don't think you're coming back from this, do you?" She asked quietly. Jack shook his head. "How can you be so sure?"

"I'm not. But I'll have that explosive, and it's a contained space. I don't expect this to be like what happened at the Hub," Jack said. Gwen glanced over at Ianto who had finally gotten their stuff together and was heading back over towards them.

"And he's okay with this?" She asked with a nod of her head in Ianto's direction.

"Yes," First Jack said. "He knows what's at stake here." He turned and smiled at Ianto as he returned with the guns. "All set?" Ianto nodded. "Let's do this, then." Jack went over to give Gwen a hug and Rhys a handshake before turning to his doppelganger. He leaned down and said something in Second Jack's ear. His mirror nodded and watched as First Jack turned away and headed over to where Ianto was standing.

"Come on, we have a date with a beautiful woman," Jack said. He led the way to the door, his coat swirling around him. Ianto followed at a more sedate pace and they could hear his voice drifting back to the group as they walked away.

"Jack, tell me now. What is it about her that turns you on? The guns? The explosives? The way she chases after you? I'm trying to see the attraction here and I just don't get it," Ianto was saying as the door closed behind them. Gwen smiled. She knew he was hiding behind the one liners and jokes, but he did have a point. Jack did seem to be attracted most to those people who wanted to kill him.

Second Jack chuckled and turned back to the computer in front of him. Gwen looked over at him. This was the man who would be the only Jack after today. Had he changed at all over the last couple of days? She wondered. She knew that this Jack had left the other alone with Ianto, presumably for one last moment together. She shook her head. How was Ianto going to be able to deal with this? She couldn't imagine, though knowing that Jack would still be there in the end was a comfort. She wondered if he truly wouldn't come back from blowing up the 456. What if he did return, and they had more than two Jacks, but three or four? Gwen sighed and Rhys gave her a concerned look. She smiled and shook her head. No use worrying about what might happen when they still have to worry about this plan actually working.

Choosing the Rover they had stolen for transportation, Ianto let Jack take the wheel. He sat and watched as Jack downshifted into a turn once they were on the motorway heading out of London and towards the military base.

They drove in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. Jack insisted on keeping the windows down as they drove and the speed at which they were moving was making it hard to talk. Finally Ianto looked over at Jack.

"When we left they were just about to activate the vaccination program," he said. Jack nodded. Ianto didn't voice the thought about what they would do if this didn't work. "So they'll gather up the children, regardless."

"Yeah, I think they feel like they need to have everything in place, just in case this goes wrong," Jack said. He kept his eyes on the road, though he glanced over at Ianto occasionally. Ianto was chewing on his thumbnail. Jack sighed. "Call your sister. Warn her." Ianto looked over at him, startled. "Just in case." Ianto continued to stare at Jack for a long moment before nodding. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his stolen mobile.

Dialing a number from heart, he waited for her to pick up. "Rhi? It's me."

"Ianto?" Rhiannon said over the loud voices of the children playing in her parlor. "I thought you weren't supposed to call?" Ianto tried to interrupt her a few times until he finally overrode her and told her what he needed to say. He warned her not to let the children out of her sight. Once he got her promise, he told her he loved her and hung up. Jack said nothing as he thought over what Ianto had said. A moment later, he chuckled.

"What?" Ianto asked him.

"Was just thinking of what you just said," Jack commented. Ianto raised an eyebrow. "You just admitted to warming to Johnny." He chuckled. "I thought you couldn't stand him."

"He's grown on me," Ianto commented as he looked out the window. "He's an arse, but he does adore Rhi and the kids."

"High praise, indeed," Jack said with amusement. He turned his attention back to the road and they passed a sign that indicated they were getting closer to their destination. "I don't remember this base," he said. He had to raise his voice as the sound of a passing lorry threatened to drown him out. "I don't remember it being in any of our records."

Ianto thought about that. "We need to clean up our records, anyhow." He commented. He thought back to the disaster area in Cardiff and shook his head ruefully. "What records that still exist," he shouted ruefully. Jack gave him a sympathetic look. Ianto was silent for a few moments as they drove, the only sound being the air rushing past the open windows.

"Can't wait to meet Ms. Johnson again," Jack finally said. Ianto glanced at him.

"You know, she may not be happy with my last redecorating idea," he said to Jack as they sped northward. Jack chuckled.

"Oh, I think those cells could use some air conditioning," Jack yelled over as he changed lanes and passed a slower moving car. "I found mine to be a bit stuffy."

"They certainly weren't roomy," Ianto agreed. He knew that they were deliberately trying to keep things light so that they didn't think of what was to come. Once Jack reached a steady speed, Ianto reached over and put his hand on Jack's which was resting on the gearshift. Jack shot him a grin before turning his attention back to the road again.

"You know, I think Johnson has some anger management issues," Jack said. "I mean, look at the outfit. Definitely post modern Emma Peel there. Who does she think she's kidding?"

"She did look hot," Ianto conceded. Jack arched an eyebrow at him.

"Ah, like the paramilitary look, do you?" Jack asked with a grin. Ianto laughed and Jack shook his head at him. "And here all along I thought it was just the vintage stuff that got your blood going."

"I will admit that does have a certain charm, all on its own," Ianto acknowledged. They continued on that fashion joking back and forth all the way up to the base. As they took the turn off to the base itself, they quieted down. They were moving inexorably closer to their goal and Ianto found it difficult to turn off thoughts of what was to come.


	23. Chapter 23

Jack reached over and touched Ianto's leg. "Almost there."

"Yeah," Ianto swallowed. He took a deep breath and pushed everything behind that professional mask he used to use. It had been so long since he had to do so, and it felt like an ill fitted glove now. But it was his armor to see him through what they needed to do. Jack made the last turn onto the road that led to the base. "A bit funny to be coming in the front door," he said, retreating into that safe area of banter again.

"I don't remember the way I came in or out the last time," Jack said with a grin.

"Well, you were a bit under the weather both times," Ianto conceded. Jack laughed as he stopped at the guard post. They were expecting them, but the guard wasn't expecting them to come in laughing. The soldier gave them a dubious look as he walked up to the side of the Rover.

"Torchwood," Jack said with a cheery grin. "I do believe you are expecting us." The man gave the two men the once over with a narrowed gaze before looking back down at his clipboard.

"Captain Harkness, Agent Jones," he nodded. "Second building on the right." Jack looked forward and nodded. Once the gate was raised, they went around the cement mixer which was still half in the road before heading onwards.

"Oops," Ianto said as they passed the mixer which had been pushed out of the way, but still had yet to be removed completely. Jack glanced at him as he saw Ianto look at the damage.

"Was that our fault?" Jack asked as he maneuvered past it and onto the building the soldier had indicated.

"Not mine," Ianto corrected. "That was all Gwen." Jack chuckled at Ianto's disavowal of any complicity in the damage. "I was driving the JCB at the time."

"Ah," Jack said with a knowing nod. "Running off to the quarry, no doubt."

"Well, it was a rescue mission," Ianto said with a nod. Jack grinned at him before pulling into the lee side of the building and cutting the engine. Two soldiers stood on either side of the entryway. Jack looked at them before getting out of the car. Ianto followed him around the other side as they made their way up to the door.

"Gentlemen," Jack said pleasantly as the two men looked at them with narrowed eyes. Apparently they weren't well liked here at the base. Not that he could blame them. He did notice the gaping hole that the construction crew was working on in the other building and knew that it was their fault. He gave them a charming smile as he walked past them and through the doorway with Ianto close to his heels.

Inside, a nondescript hallway stretched down the length of the building. Jack strode on, figuring someone would indicate the way or they'd figure it out on their own. Voices could be heard as they walked down the hall and Jack headed in that direction. Once past a T-junction, they turned towards the discussion that was going on until that hallway opened to a large room with a group of soldiers. In the middle, Johnson stood with her hands on her hips and her back to the doorway.

"Captain Harkness," she said as Jack appeared in the doorway. "I can't say it is a pleasure." Jack grinned.

"Oh come on, no hard feelings, is there?" He asked. She turned around and gave him a measured stare. "Sorry about the cell, by the way. My team was in a bit of a hurry. I've told them time and time again not to damage government property." He turned to give Ianto a stern look. Ianto remained unperturbed by his comment so he turned back to Johnson and shrugged. "But then, that's Torchwood for you. One step ahead of the military."

"Not always," Johnson said. "We did take out your base of operations, after all."

"Yeah, about that," Jack said. He moved into the room, Ianto close behind him. He walked up to where she stood, ignoring the twitchy soldiers who had brought their arms to bear as he entered the room. "For a woman, you have a bad sense of how to redecorate a place." Her eyes narrowed at his comment and they could hear the audible intake of breath from one of the soldiers.

"Listen Harkness, I don't like you," she said. "And I don't like the idea of having to work with you and any of your team at the moment." She stalked away from him to give her some distance from where he stood before turning to stare at him. "But I do follow orders, unlike some people I could name. And my orders are to assist you. Mr. Frobisher did not go into any details, but said that I and my group were to assist you in any way possible. I will tell you I'm not happy about that. So tell me what you need so I can get you the hell out of my way." Jack nodded amiably.

"First order of business is that you need to release my family," Jack said. Johnson stared at him for a long moment before looking behind him and nodding. "Then we talk about the rest."

Ianto could hear one of the soldiers leave through the same door they had come in moments ago. He felt the eyes on them as they waited. He adopted a relaxed posture similar to Jack's and waited, confident that their requests would be carried out now that the government was in agreement with them. It took about ten minutes until they heard voices approaching. There was the low contralto of a woman and the higher voice of a child approaching and as they reached the door, Jack turned around to face the entryway. Ianto turned a second behind him and saw Jack's daughter and grandson for the first time.

"Uncle Jack!" The tow-headed boy shouted and ran away from his mother towards Jack. Jack grinned and grabbed him, lifting him up in his arms.

"Hey Tiger! You taking care of your mom for me?" Jack asked. The soldiers watched as the boy hugged him. Several of them smiled, though Johnson only raised an eyebrow as she watched.

"Yeah, is this because of the aliens taking over me?" Steven asked. "Are they going to do it again?"

"Hope not, Tiger," Jack said. He hugged the boy tight before setting him down again. Steven wrapped his arms around Jack's waist and clung to him. Jack was smiling as he looked up at Alice. "Hi, hon."

"I knew you'd get here, sooner or later," Alice said with a smile. As mad as she was about everything that had gone on, deep down she was glad to see him. "Come to get us out of the brig?"

"You betcha," Jack said. He smiled at her and after a moment she walked up to him and gave him a hug. He whispered in her ear and she nodded before pulling back. "Hey, want you to meet a friend of mine," he said. He nodded at Ianto. "This is Ianto Jones. He works with me."

Ianto smiled and winked at Steven, who laughed. "At your service, ma'am," he said politely with a nod towards Alice. She looked at him speculatively before looking back at her father.

"Ianto's going to get you out of here," Jack continued.

"And where will you be?" Alice asked.

"Oh, out and about," Jack said in a breezy tone. "I have an appointment I need to keep. But Ianto should be able to look after you." She turned to the young man standing a step behind Jack and he met her gaze squarely.

"Can't we go with you, Uncle Jack?" Steven asked, looking up at the man he adored.

"Not today, champ. Got some business to take care of, but you'll see me soon enough," Jack promised. He hunkered down so that they were eye to eye. "Can you do me a favor?" Steven nodded eagerly and Jack smiled at him. "Take care of your mom for me? While I trust Ianto, I really need you to look out for her. Can you do that?" Steven grinned and nodded again. Jack tousled his hair. "Good. Then I'm happy." He stood up again and turned towards his daughter.

"Go with Ianto. He'll be able to explain everything," he said. She looked at him for a long moment and decided she didn't like the way he avoided her gaze. She opened her mouth to say something and he pulled her into a hug. "Please honey," he whispered. "Not in front of Steven. Go with him. He'll tell you anything you need to know." He gave her a kiss on the cheek as he pulled back. Cradling her face, he gave her another kiss on the forehead. It made her fear that something bad was going to happen. She mouthed "Dad," and he smiled down at her. "Love you."

Lips trembling, she nodded and mouthed it back to him, along with a "be careful." He nodded, and then looked at Ianto. Letting go of his daughter, he pulled Ianto into a hug before handing him the keys. "Take them," he said to Ianto. Ianto looked at him for a long moment before nodding. This would be the last time he saw this Jack. After a wordless communication where he let everything he felt for the man show for a moment, he closed down what he was feeling and let the mask drop back in place before turning to Alice.

"This way, please," he said, indicating the doorway. Jack leaned down and gave Steven another hug before gently pushing him off in the direction where Alice held out her hand. With one last look at her father, she followed Ianto out of the room. Jack stood staring at the doorway for a long moment as the echo of their footsteps faded as they left the building.

Taking a deep breath he turned back to Johnson, all joviality gone.

"Let's talk business," he said.


	24. Chapter 24

Outside the building, Ianto led the way to the Rover. He could see that Alice had a lot of questions, but he couldn't see a way to say anything with Steven nearby. He undid the locks and opened the back door so that Steven could scramble in. He was never really good with kids, but made an effort since this was Jack's grandson.

"Up you go, mate," he said with a smile and Steven gave him a sunny smile before climbing into the backseat. "Please put your seatbelt on, yeah?" Ianto said and Steven nodded at him. Alice was already getting into the passenger seat. Taking a deep breath, Ianto gave the building one last lingering look before getting into the driver's seat. He put his seatbelt on before giving Alice a smile and a nod as he checked that both of his passengers were belted in.

"Where are we headed?" Alice asked. Ianto hadn't a clue and as he started up the engine, he thought for a long moment.

"Back to yours?" He suggested. She thought about it and shrugged. It was far enough outside the city that it was easy to get to and as good as place as any. If the military wanted them again, they would find them easily enough. He took her reaction as acquiescence and turned the car around to head off the base. In the rearview mirror, he could see Steven waving to the soldiers as they passed and he smiled.

"There's a DVD player there if you want to watch something," Ianto told Steven. "Not sure what's in it at the moment, but maybe it's something you'd like to watch." Steven turned his attention to the player that was mounted into the back of the seat in front of him and used the controls on his armrest to turn the DVD player on. A moment later they could hear the sounds of some animated show playing. Watching carefully in the rearview mirror, Ianto could see that it was at present holding Steven's attention. He passed through the gate at the front of the base and headed out to the motorway.

"So, we're just leaving him here," Alice said softly. Ianto glanced over at her and nodded. "What's he up to?"

"Stopping the aliens," Ianto said in a low voice, pitched only so Alice could hear. She nodded.

"That isn't going to be easy," she said. He nodded in response as he drove the stretch of road that led to the motorway. She turned and looked at him for a long moment. He ignored her searching gaze and kept his eyes on the road.

"You're Torchwood," Alice murmured, keeping her voice down low enough for Steven not to hear. He was too busy giggling at the antics of the on screen characters to pay attention to what the adults were saying in the front seat. Ianto gave a brief nod. "I used to freelance."

"I know," Ianto said. He signaled a lane change so he could take the next ramp onto the motorway.

"Can you tell me what's happening?" She asked in a quiet voice. Ianto sighed.

"Yes, but perhaps it would be best waiting until we got to your house where your son can go off and watch telly," Ianto suggested. She stared at him for a long moment, considering whether he was just putting her off. He spared her a glance and she caught the serious look in his eyes.

"Okay, I can wait," she said. She said nothing further to him as they finally got onto the motorway and headed towards her house. The drive felt long to her and she drummed her fingers against her leg impatiently as she waited.

At the base Johnson stared at Jack after he explained his idea. "You have got to be kidding me," she said in a flat voice. Jack looked at her and shook his head. "Frobisher agreed to this lunacy?"

"Green agreed to this," Jack informed her. He sighed impatiently. "Look, you have no idea what we're dealing with here. Give me access to a computer, and I'll show you." She stared at him steadily for a moment and then nodded. Leading the way into the next room, she let him have access to a computer. He sat down and logged into the Torchwood database. With a glance at her, he retrieved the recorded videos and played back some select points that Gwen had marked as they were being recorded. Johnson stood over her shoulder and watched impassively.

"This is what you're dealing with," Jack told her. "We have complete recordings of the Gold Command meetings as well as all of the negotiations with the 456. We have two options. One is to comply and give away 10% of the world's children to these aliens. The other is my idea."

"And you think this is actually going to work?" She asked, disbelief tingeing her voice.

"If there is one thing I know, its aliens," Jack said confidently. "They'll see it as a win-win scenario. If they accept my offer, they'll think they can take me and still demand the children."

"Don't you think they'll realize it's a trap?" Johnson asked.

"Even if they do a scan, I don't think they'll see anything internal," Jack said. "If they do, I take the chance and have you trigger it outside the tank. Hopefully it will take out the top floor and their life support system before they can leave the tank. Problem solved either way."

"Will the explosive charge be enough?" She asked him. He looked her in the eye.

"Double it," he said. She raised an eyebrow before leaning against the desk.

"And do you rise like the phoenix out of the ashes this time to haunt us again?" She asked him.

"Not this time," Jack responded. "If I go up inside that tank with the charge I suggest, I'll probably be vaporized along with the alien." She stared at him and suddenly the earlier scene with his daughter and grandson became a little clearer to her.

"You said goodbye to them," she hazarded. Jack followed her thinking processes and nodded. "And they don't know you're going to kill yourself doing this."

"Not exactly," Jack commented. She frowned, but he didn't elaborate. No use in letting her know that there was more than one of him around. He'd save that pleasure for his doppelganger to experience later. He grinned. "Come on, we're wasting time. I need you to get together the footage of me regenerating so we can feed it to the 456. I also need you to implant the explosives and do a local scan to see if our instrumentation picks it up. Not that they have any with them that I can figure out, but I do think their control is just on the children. We should be able to implant the devices and get me into the tank."

"And how will you survive that atmosphere?" Johnson asked with an indication towards the white, milky substance that swirled around obscuring the creature within.

"That's my problem, and I don't need to breath for long, just to get inside the tank," Jack told her. She considered all of his arguments carefully before nodding.

"All right, it's what they want, let's go ahead," she said decisively. She pushed away from the desk and strode into the next room, calling out orders to the soldiers within. Jack was escorted to a medical lab where he was asked to remove his shirt. He winked at the male orderly who was standing by with the laser scalpel as he unbuttoned his shirt and lifted up his vest. He lay back on the table and waited for the orderly to cut him open. The man hesitated.

"It's just a little sting," Jack told him. "Go ahead." The man looked nervously from Jack to Johnson and back again. After a moment, she took matters into her own hands and pulled the laser scalpel out of his grip and turned it on. Making a clean slice, she cut into Jack's abdomen and he hissed.

"Oh, don't be a baby," she told him. She motioned for the soldier behind her to hand the explosives to the orderly and nodded for him to put them into Jack's stomach cavity.

"Hey, you try this without anesthesia!" Jack protested. She ignored him as she poked one end further inside, making him grunt before closing the incision back up. A moment later and there was no sign of any work having been done other than the flecks of blood on his vest where it has splattered when Johnson cut him. He sat up and wiggled, trying to settle the extra bulk into a more comfortable position. The soldiers in the room looked on in horrified fascination at what just happened. Jack looked down and noticed the flecks. "Awww, you messed my vest!"

"Like that's going to matter in another hour?" Johnson asked him in disbelief. Jack grumbled as he buttoned up his shirt and tugged his braces back up onto his shoulders. "You are unbelieveable."

"Yeah, I am, aren't I?" Jack said with a grin. He hopped off the table and stood as he checked the extra weight. "Wow, didn't notice one of these things, but two certainly make a difference, don't they?" He twisted left and right to see how it would affect his movement. "It'll do."

"I dare say," Johnson said with one eyebrow raised. Jack grinned at her.

"All right, let's plan this out," he said. "What's the range of your transmitter?"

"Long enough," she said.

"Give me a local trigger, just in case there's extra shielding that will prevent you from triggering it," Jack suggested. Johnson shook her head.

"Too obvious, and besides we have a failsafe," she said. At his enquiring look she continued. "If the explosives lose contact with the transmitter at any time, they go off by themselves." Jack blinked. "They were designed for covert missions where it was possible the transmitter might get into enemy hands and be deactivated. This ensured that all evidence was destroyed, hopefully someplace where it could do some maximum damage." Jack nodded.

"Works for me," he commented. "Now how about giving me a lift to Thames House? My ride seems to have run off without me." Johnson shook her head at his joking comments but had to admit to a certain admiration for what he was willing to do. Jack started heading towards the exit when she called out to him.

"Harkness," she said. Jack paused and turned back towards her. "Does that captain designation really mean anything?" He looked confused for a moment at her seemingly off the wall question.

"Yes," he replied. "I was a Captain in the RAF during World War II," he said. She just shook her head.

"Never wanted to get anywhere higher?" She asked as she followed him over to the doorway.

"Nah, was never a fan of the paperwork," he said as they walked through the hallways. "You know, work your way up and you never get to do the hands on work." She laughed at his comment, knowing he was only too right. They walked through the hallways in silence until they reached the outside door. She led the way around the building to a helipad. Their ride was waiting.

"So," she said, continuing their conversation. "What do you get out of all this?" She asked. He stopped and considered her question.

"Redemption," he said. "And a chance to save the children of the world." Unspoken in his comment was that he was also saving one particular child. His grandson. He turned and clambered into the helicopter, Johnson a step behind him along with two soldiers.

"And what will your daughter think when she finds out what happened?" Johnson asked. Jack shrugged.

"Maybe throw a party?" He suggested. She frowned at him. "We don't have the best relationship."

"So I've seen," she said. They put on headsets and she gave the command for the pilot to take them to Thames House. The rotors picked up speed and a few moments later they were lifting off and heading towards London…


	25. Chapter 25

In a suburb halfway between Cardiff and London, Ianto pulled into a drive which led to Alice's house. Steve immediately climbed out of the backseat and headed towards the house with Alice chasing after him. She wanted to check out the house before she let him wander about by himself. Ianto got out of the driver's and followed them more slowly. He wasn't looking forward to the conversation they were going to have. He waited politely in the kitchen while Alice went through the house to make sure everything was okay. Steven waited impatiently by his side, having been ordered by his mother not to leave the room. Steve shifted from foot to foot, eager to get back to his things. Ianto looked about the kitchen and spying a coffee pot, decided to make some coffee. He moved around the kitchen, listening to the floorboards squeaking overhead as Alice investigated every room. The coffee was brewing and he was reaching for some mugs when Steven poked a finger in his side. Ianto was so startled he nearly dropped the mugs.

"How come you have a gun?" Steven asked. Ianto blinked and then remembered his had tucked a gun into his trousers when they had left the Hub 2.

"Because it's part of my job to use one," he told the boy. His motto had always been to treat kids who could at least speak somewhat intelligently like they were just small adults. Sometimes it worked, other times it didn't, but in this case Steven seemed well behaved enough to have a coherent conversation with him.

"It doesn't look like the one my Uncle Jack has," Steven said. Ianto smiled.

"Your uncle's is a one of a kind," Ianto said with a smile. The sound of a step behind them made him turn around to see Alice had been standing there listening to their conversation.

"Is he going to come by soon?" Steve asked. Ianto looked down at him.

"He has some work to do with that alien, so he's pretty busy right now. But once he's done, I'm sure he'll come by and visit." Ianto told him. Steve nodded and then saw his mother.

"Mum, can I go play now?" She nodded and he streaked past her and up to his room, shouting something about playing some game. After a moment she turned her attention back in Ianto's direction and entered the room.

"He really adores Jack," Ianto observed. Alice sighed and nodded. "Think you'll ever tell him?" Ianto asked. Alice sighed again and shrugged. "Someday he'll have to know."

"Maybe," Alice said. "It didn't help me, finding out." Ianto poured her a cup of coffee and handed it to her to flavor as she desired. She took a sip, preferring black coffee. He smiled, seeing that she took after her father in that regard. He drank from his own mug and sat down at the kitchen table.

"Maybe it's time to just accept him as he is," Ianto said to her. "It's not like he has a choice in the matter." She considered his comment.

"No, but it still hurts," she said. "It hurt my mother that she kept on growing older and he didn't. And now that I am physically older than my own father, I can understand why she was bitter about it." She played with her coffee mug on the table, making rings with where it had spilled a little over the side.

"Think how he feels, watching everyone he loves grow old and die," Ianto said in a soft voice which made her look up at him sharply. His eyes were looking down at his own mug, and something in the tone of his voice made her realize that it was something he had considered himself. When she didn't respond he looked up at her. "It hurts him, too. I think it tears him apart to watch us grow old and die, knowing he would give anything to do the same and can't."

She was silent for a long moment and just watched him as he raised the mug to his lips. He met her gaze and waited for her response. After a few seconds, she had to turn away. They sat in an uncomfortable silence until she spoke again.

"Just what is dear old Dad up to now?" She finally asked, her chin resting on her hand as she looked away from the man seated at the table. "I know from the way he was acting that it can't be anything good." Ianto didn't respond for a few moments as he considered his response.

"He's going to take out the aliens on his own," Ianto finally said. Startled, she looked up at him. "Did they tell you what the aliens want?" She shook her head. "They want the children." Her eyes widened and she involuntarily glanced upwards to where her son was playing.

"For what?" She asked. Ianto sighed.

"We aren't sure, but we think it's because they're dependent upon some chemical in their bodies," Ianto admitted. Alice gave him a horrified look.

"How do you know that?" She asked.

"This is not the first time they've been here," Ianto admitted. "They took children before and they're back for more."

She thought for a moment and swore. "That bastard."

"Pardon?" Ianto asked.

"My father," Alice said. "He came here the day the children all started talking in unison. He wanted to do some tests on Steven but I wouldn't let him," she said bitterly. "That bastard knew."

"No he didn't," Ianto said. "We were looking for a child to see if it was a radio frequency that was controlling them. We wouldn't have harmed him," Ianto said. Alice gave him a disgusted look and turned away. "And who knows, maybe we wouldn't be where we are now if we had been able to do some tests."

"And if the military didn't blow up the Hub," Alice said. Ianto nodded. Alice sighed and put down her mug. "So what is he going to do?"

"He's going to offer himself to the aliens in exchange for the children," Ianto told her. She gave him a horrified look and started to speak but he stopped her with one upraised hand. "He's doing that to get in so he can set off a bomb and kill them. He thinks if he does that, the rest of the race will be warned off that we mean business and leave."

"How is he going to do that?" She asked. Her face was pale at the thought of what her father was going to do.

"The same way the military blew up the Hub," Ianto informed her. "He's going to plant an explosive inside himself and walk into the alien's lair." Alice covered her mouth with her hands as she stared at him.

"That will kill him," she said. Ianto nodded. She closed her eyes and thought for a moment before opening them again and looking at the Torchwood operative in front of her. She watched him carefully. "He doesn't expect to survive this, does he?"

"No," Ianto said quietly. She buried her face in her hands, her elbows resting on the table as she absorbed what he had to say.

"He'll come back though," she finally said. She looked up and saw him shake his head. "No?"

"Not if it goes to plan," Ianto said. "He plans on using double the explosives they used to take out the Hub." She stared at him for a long moment, her mouth dry at the thought of him as a walking time bomb.

"So he will probably die permanently?" She asked after taking a sip of her cooling coffee. Ianto nodded.

"Well, that him will," Ianto told her. She got a confused look on her face at his comment. "Alice, I need to explain something else to you." He went on to tell her about the first explosion and how Jack had regenerated out of several body parts. She looked sick at what he had to tell her and when he was finished, she just sat in shock trying to wrap her head around it all.

"There's two of him?" She finally said in a whisper, her face pale. Ianto nodded. "But…"

"It defies logic," Ianto responded. "But I saw it happen with my own eyes." She stared at him and blinked. "They both regenerated into the same man with the same memories up until the time the bomb went off."

"Oh my God," Alice breathed. She buried her face in her hands again, not wanting to look at the man sitting across the table. Ianto sat back and let her take her time so she could absorb everything he had told her. It took several minutes for her to regain control of herself. Finally, she looked at him. "Where's the other one?"

"With the rest of our team at an auxiliary base," Ianto told her. She looked at him, her eyes scanning his face.

"And you've talked to him," she said. Ianto nodded. "And he's the exact same." Ianto nodded again. "But how?"

"I have no idea," Ianto said. He got up and walked away from her, using the pretense of filling his cup again so he could think. He poured himself another cup of coffee and turned to lean against the counter. A moment later, Alice let out a sharp bitter laugh.

"Oh, that's just lovely. As if one of him wasn't enough. Two!" She said loudly. She covered her mouth again and muttered more softly, "two!"

"Not for long," Ianto said in reply, startling her out of her reverie.

"When?" She asked, turning to stare at him. He shrugged.

"It depends on how long it takes to plant the explosives and get him over to Thames House," he replied. "Then he sweet talks his way into the tank and blows himself up." She looked at him and noted that his voice wavered on the last sentence. She put two and two together and turned away.

"Oh God," she said. "You two are together." Ianto didn't bother to reply. She shook her head. "He is just amazing. Simply amazing." She turned back and looked at him. "How long?"

"That's none of your business," Ianto said calmly. He didn't deny her statement, however. He took a sip of his coffee.

"And you let him go off and do this?" She asked. He shrugged.

"He's a grown man, it's his decision. Even if it had been just one of him, I would have let him do it. Right now he's the only chance we have, short of giving all the children away to them to graft onto their bodies," Ianto told her. She closed her eyes and shuddered at the thought.

"And the government was going to do this?" She asked.

"They still are, unless he stops this," Ianto told her. He really wanted to know what was going on at the moment, but at the same time, he didn't. He felt cowardly for not being there for Jack, but he also knew that Jack had deliberately wanted him out of the way so he didn't have to witness what was about to happen.

"Why are we here, and not wherever your team is, watching this going on?" She asked. "Don't you want to see if it works?" He nodded.

"It's not a good place for Steven to be," Ianto said and she had to agree he was right. "Besides, the other Jack is there in different clothing, it was the only way we could keep the two straight," he explained. She nodded in understanding as if it made all the sense in the world. He put down his mug and picked it back up again, then began pacing. She watched him for a few moments.

"You want to go," she said." He sighed and nodded. "Will you ring me and tell me what happens?" He turned and looked at her. "As much as he drives me insane, I do care what happens to him."

"Yes," Ianto said. "And you're not the only one he drives insane with his antics," he went on with a smile. He looked at her and nodded. "Thank you, Alice. I didn't think I wanted to be there, but after everything that's happened, I feel like I have to."

"I hope it goes well," she said. She let out a laugh. "Well, Dad always liked being the life of the party and said he liked a big bang for his buck. He'll certainly get both in one go, here!" Ianto smiled wryly at her comment.

"That is true," he noted. He put the mug in the sink. "I'm off."

"Best of luck. You have my number?" Alice asked. Ianto nodded. "All right then. I'll be waiting." Ianto walked past her and lightly clasped her shoulder as made his way out the door. After it closed behind him, she waited until she heard the engine started off and the sound fade away. She thought long and hard about some of the things he had said before she made her way upstairs to hug her son.


	26. Chapter 26

Ianto quickly made his way back towards London, hoping that he wouldn't be too late, though there was a part of him that hoped he missed whatever happened. He felt so conflicted, and there was a part of him that really related to how Alice was feeling. But in the end, he knew that the only thing that mattered was that this worked, and that Jack's sacrifice would be worth the pain he went through to achieve it. He drove on, hoping that this would end the battle once and for all.

The helicopter touched down on the building next to Thames House, since it very well couldn't land on the glass atrium that capped that building. Johnson stepped out as the rotors started to die down, followed by Jack. He moved about with his usual great strides and the soldiers surrounding him gave him a wide berth, as if he was going to blow up by walking around. Considering the fact that two large explosive devices were rattling around inside him, it was highly likely they were right, Johnson decided. Of course, avoiding him wasn't going to help if he took the top of the building with him.

They went below to a floor where they could cross over to the Thames House before heading up to the thirteenth floor. Just outside the lift, they met Dekker and Johnson stared at him for a long moment before making a hand gesture which her men interpreted as "secure subject" for later interrogation. Jack paused and turned to look at her.

"Get everyone out of the building," Jack said.

Johnson shook her head. "Can't do that. Under orders to in no way give our position away. For all we know, that alien can sense the number of warm bodies in the building. We can't get them think anything is different than normal at the moment." Jack sighed, but saw what she meant. He nodded.

"Okay, if I can get inside the tank, chances are the damages will be minimal," he told her. She was going to monitor operations from the secure basement bunker. Close enough to trigger the explosives and send the video when he asked, but far enough away to keep people safe. She didn't wish him luck. His mission wasn't one that required luck, only good timing. He watched as she took the lift with her men down to the basement. He paced restlessly, wanting to give her time to set up. The signal was that one of the men would send the lift up to his floor when they were ready. A few minutes later, there was the ding and the doors to the lift open. Jack gave her points for efficiency, since he had to wait very little for her to get into position.

Stepping inside, he pressed the thirteenth floor and ascended for his conversation with the 456.

~*~

At the Hub 2 the group sat and waited for something to happen. The Gold Command leadership team had reconvened, so they knew Jack was probably in position. Gwen watched as the politicians discussed contingency plans if this didn't work. She narrowed her eyes, annoyed that they were so willing to sit back and let someone else take the bullet to save their hides.

"I'm never voting for any of this lot," she muttered. Rhys nodded. He was standing behind her watching all the fat cat politicians trying to make sure that there would be no blood on their hands. He was never more proud of the work his wife did than when he found out they were recording all of these discussions. It was scary that their own representatives could just write off people in such a cavalier fashion.

Second Jack sat at the computer he had been working at all day, working on other plans in case his, or at least his other self's plan didn't work. While he didn't want to consider that alternative, he had to be practical. He looked up as the door opened and was surprised to see Ianto walk through the door.

"Not too late, am I?" Ianto asked. He could see the question on Jack's face as he strode across the warehouse. "They're safe at home."

"Thought you were going to stay there," Jack commented. Ianto shook his head and from his rueful expression, Jack got the impression that he had probably had a run in with Alice. Gwen turned around to watch the two men and she shamelessly eavesdropped on their conversation. "How'd it go?"

"She's a bit…" Ianto paused as he tried to describe what happened. He was at a loss for words.

"Caustic?" Jack asked with a grin. Ianto chuckled and nodded. "How was she?" Ianto knew that he meant how her reaction was.

"Mixed, but she asked me to ring and her and let her know how it goes," he said. Jack nodded. "I thought she took it pretty well, considering."

"Yeah," Jack said. He dropped his gaze back onto the keyboard here his hands were still resting from typing. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Ianto said. "Steven is quite the charmer." Jack smiled up at him.

"Yeah, he is," Jack said. He let out a sigh.

Rhys drew Gwen's attention back to the laptop. "Something's happening." Everyone turned at the sound of his voice and Ianto moved over to watch. First Jack had given the transmission number to Dekker to send the feed directly to them and the second computer that he had been using was now showing the same display that the cabinet was watching. Ianto bit his lip as he watched Jack stride into the large, empty room and address the 456.

"My name is Captain Jack Harkness. We've dealt with each other before," he said. The alien could be seen writhing around in the misty fog of the tank but otherwise it said nothing. "I have a proposition for you." He waited, legs braced for their response.

"Speak," the unearthly voice echoed through the room after a moment's pause.

"Let's make this conversation a little more private," Jack said conversationally. He nodded off to the side and the Torchwood team could see static on the monitors that the cabinet was watching. Their own display remained up, and Ianto knew that he had had Dekker or someone kill the video feed to the politicians. On Gwen's laptop they could see people scuttling about trying to re-establish the feed. Ianto was disappointed to see that they must have had a secondary feed, because the displays flickered to life after a short period of time. Second Jack sighed.

"Oh well, no more secrets, I guess," he said with a tired grin. Ianto gave him a slight smile, and returned his attention to the display in front of him. First Jack was addressing the 456 and telling them his history.

"Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I was not born on this planet. I grew up in a colony known as the Boeshane Peninsula in the 51st century. I used to work for the Time Agency," Jack said. He paused while the alien reacted to the information he had to tell them. "There's only a select group of people who know this information. But I'm telling you this because it's important.

"I have traveled with a Time Lord of Gallifrey," he continued.

"Impossible," the alien hissed. "They are long dead."

"Not all," Jack said. "I've traveled in his TARDIS through time and space and it is because of him and his companion that I am now immortal." Silence met his comment and he waited for a beat before continuing. "I can't die. I regenerate. I've lived on this earth for centuries, helping the people of this planet."

"Why?" The voice echoed through the speakers. Jack paused and waited for them to elucidate further. "Why tell us this?"

Jack lifted his chin at the challenge. "Because I have an offer for you. Instead of the children of this world, I offer you something else in trade."

"Speak," the voice said.

"I offer myself," Jack said, spreading his hands out to either side. "A renewable resource. Each cell in my body regenerates. I don't age, and I can't die, well, not for long. I represent chemicals new to you. I carry within my body the power of the Heart of the TARDIS, that of the Time Vortex, which brought me back to life after a battle with the Daleks." He had to pause while the alien let out a violent splat of goo and screamed at the name. "I speak the truth to you."

"Proof," the voice said. "What proof have you?"

"I give you the proof in the form of a signal transmission on your frequency," Jack said confidently. "I was killed not too long ago. This video represents proof of my regenerating abilities." He waited as the silence stretched out. He could almost hear the tick of the clock on the wall as the hands crept slowly along. When he felt that enough time had passed, he spoke again.

"I speak the truth. I offer myself freely to you in the form of a renewable chemical source that will last you lifetimes. In exchange, you agree not to harvest the children of this world." Jack waited for a response.

The speakers cracked with odd noises as the alien thrashed within its tank. Eventually, all was quiet and a single word came through the speakers. "Why?"

Jack cocked his head to one side. "Why what? Why do I make this offer?"

"Yes," came the reply.

"To save the children of this world," Jack replied.

"At the cost of your own life?" The alien's voice sounded almost mocking. Jack stared at the tank.

"Yes," he said.

"Are the children of this planet worth that sacrifice?" The question echoed. "These are the children that your government was willing to give to us."

"No, that's not true. You are coercing the governments of this world," Jack said. He waited for the alien to thrash about in anger, but there was no response. "They do not want to give up their children."

"Even the starving, the poor, and the ones who will not live?" The alien voice asked. "We offer eternal life."

"You offer life without choice or autonomous will," Jack countered.

"Yet you offer yourself in exchange," the alien said.

"Yes," Jack replied. "I am using my free will to do so."

"In exchange for children," the voice said. It had an almost musing tone, as if he had surprised it. "And what if we do not accept your offer?"

Jack smiled. "What? Walk away from a sure deal? Now why would you do that?"


	27. Chapter 27

At Downing Street the people at the table were talking over one another as the group absorbed the conversation that was going on at Thames House. Politicians shouted and tried to get their voices heard and Lois was furiously writing shorthand that Ianto was trying to translate.

"It's all a jumble," he told Gwen and Rhys. Clem cowered every time the alien spoke. Second Jack stood behind Clem, still unsure if he was linked to the alien in some way.

At Thames House, Jack was doing his damnedest to sell himself to the alien. He told it to play the video again. Asked Gwen to forward countless other videos of him reviving, and waited as she uploaded videos from the Torchwood mainframe to the 456. He used every trick he had learned in years of being a con man.

"You want some sort of live proof, don't you?" He finally asked. Silence met his question. He turned away from the camera. "Dekker!" He shouted. A few moments later footsteps could be heard and Jack turned to someone outside the camera range. "Get one of the soldiers to come here," he requested. He turned back and grinned at the camera. A moment later, a soldier came into range.

"Lieutenant, shoot me in the head," he requested. At the soldier's hesitation, he smiled. "Please. We don't have much time." The young man swallowed and nodded. He lifted his rifle up, took aim and a moment later the sound of a gun going on could be heard and Jack dropped like a stone to the floor. The group at Downing Street gasped in unison. The group at the Hub 2 just watched in grim silence. Ianto watched the screen intently and breathed a sigh as Jack gasped back to life. The camera caught the hole closing up on his forehead and they saw the shock on the soldier's face as he stood up again.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Jack said, dismissing the young man who retreated out the door. He turned back to the tank. "The offer still stands. Again, myself in exchange for the children. Do you accept?" Jack waited but received silence in return. Ianto could see that he was getting antsy, though it probably wouldn't be apparent to anyone who didn't know him well.

"Accepted," the voice finally rumbled. Jack nodded.

"Thank you," He responded. "I am prepared to offer myself to you now. Do I have permission to enter?"

"You may," the alien said. Jack nodded. He looked at the camera one last time and nodded, then headed to the side of the tank. The door opened to let him into the chamber and a moment later, the poisonous gas started to seep in and fill the space.

Ianto bowed his head, unable to watch. Gwen reached out and covered his hand with her own.

"Don't watch," she said in a soft voice. Rhys glanced from one to the other. Neither of them wanted to see this, but both felt obligated to be witnesses. He stood between them and put an arm around each of them to support them. At the feeling of Rhys' arm around his shoulders for support, Ianto looked up again and stared at the screen. He would watch this to the end. He just prayed that Jack's sacrifice would work in the end.

At Downing Street they watched with amazement as Jack stayed upright in the airlock. Once the gasses were in there, it was hard to see, but it was obvious that his coat was still there, and then they saw it move as he entered the chamber. Low murmurs met the action and the people in the room watched and waited.

Ianto leaned closer to the screen and saw the swish of Jack's coat against the front of the tank.

"Oh my God," Gwen whispered. "This is really happening." Rhys gripped her shoulder and held her close as she watched in disbelief. "He's really doing it."

"Not long now," Second Jack murmured. At the moment, Clem twitched and shouted and they turned to watch.

"I think it knows! It knows something!" He shouted. Clem collapsed into a ball on the floor and moaned. He tried to cover his head and Gwen looked down at him, torn between waiting to see what happened and comforting Clem. Clem screamed and Gwen jumped.

"Look!" Rhys said and pointed towards the computer screens as something flashed and illuminated the white mist inside the tank. A piercing shriek came out of the speakers and the windows in the room outside the tank shattered as the sound escalated. Glass rained down from the skylight above as the sound caused the ceiling to collapse.

Clem collapsed and curled up on the ground, his hands over his ears. A moment later there was a second bright flash and the video signal started to break up. One camera fell onto its side with the force of the contained explosion, but the video stayed up on that camera. The wail abruptly cut off and silence reigned. There were colored streaks on the wall and a moment later the gas started to dissipate through a leak that had formed somewhere in the tank.

"It worked," Ianto said softly, his ears still hearing the echo of that unearthly sound. Rhys could feel him trembling under his arm and he rubbed Ianto's back. Gwen wasn't much better. Looking at her face, he could see she was shocked. She was staring at the screen as if trying to find Jack. From what he could see, there was nothing much of anything in the tank other than a mess of goo at the bottom.

A moment later someone manhandled the camera into an upright position and they could see that the military had taken over the building. Johnson paced up to the tank and peered in. She walked from one side to the other before turning to the camera and nodding. It was over.

"I wonder if she's going to pour concrete over that too, just to make sure it stays that way," Rhys murmured. Jack barked out a laugh. Gwen and Ianto turned to stare at him.

"It would be like her," Jack said. He saw the expressions on their faces. "What?"

Ianto closed his eyes and shook his head. Jack looked at him for a long moment and making a decision, made his way around to where Ianto was standing. Nodding to Rhys, who pulled back out of the way, Jack stepped up to Ianto.

"I know how hard that was for you," he murmured. He ignored Gwen for the moment. He would have some time with her as well, but for the moment, Ianto was his focus. He reached out and touched Ianto's cheek. Ianto closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, letting out a sigh as he did so.

"It was the right thing to do," he said softly. Jack cradled Ianto's face in his hands and nodded. He kissed Ianto's forehead before pulling the younger man into his arms. Ianto clung to him, eyes closed. He let himself feel Jack's arms around him. He could smell that scent that was uniquely Jack. The two men stood there in their embrace for a long moment. They didn't have long before sounds coming from Downing Street interrupted their reverie.

Ianto tried to pull back, but Jack wouldn't let him. Instead, he let Ianto turn to face the screen and moved to stand behind him, his arms around the young man, still holding him close. The politicians were all congratulating each other on eliminating the alien menace. Gwen had been checking on Clem who was staring about with a confused look, looking coherent for the first time in his life. She had to get back and see what was happening. Standing, she stood and looked at the screen.

"Those bastards," she murmured. "Listen to them."

"Yeah," Rhys nodded. "You'd think they solved it by themselves, wouldn't you?" He smiled cynically. "Ever the way of politicians, isn't it?"

Prime Minister Green looked around the table and smiled in satisfaction. Yates looked at him and nodded. They could do a good spin on this, and announce to the world that they had solved the problem. He held up a hand to get everyone's attention and the group turned their attention in his direction. They ignored the cleanup of the MI5 on the displays behind them.

"I think that went rather well," Green said in a smug tone. "Killed two birds with one stone. An excellent day, indeed."

Gwen's eyes narrowed as she listened. "That son of a…" Rhys put a hand on her shoulder and she paused. "Does he think this is over and we're just going to let them get off scot-free?" She was indignant at the thought that they were taking this the way they were. They listened to the spin doctors as they prepared for a press release as well as to give the news to the military groups from other countries who had been watching in the background, safe in their own plausible deniability for their own actions, having let the British government make all the tough decisions in the end.


	28. Chapter 28

"They seem to be forgetting a few things," Jack drawled. She looked over and saw he had a lazy grin on his face. He turned his head to look at her and winked. "I think we need Lois to remind them." Gwen's grin back was more feral than anything else.

"Yes, I do believe they need a little dose of reality. Don't you think?" She asked. Jack inclined his head and she turned to the laptop and pulled it closer so she could type a message to Lois. He had a feeling that Lois was going to enjoy doing this as well. Gwen started typing.

In the Gold Command center, Lois watched in disbelief at the government she worked for ignored the fact that a man had sacrificed his life to save their own people. The callousness with which they spoke about what happened simply astounded her. She looked at Bridget who seemed appalled, but more pragmatic about the situation, as if it were something to be expected. She looked down at the pad in her hand briefly, trying to think what to ask Gwen back at her base when text started appearing in her contacts.

_We think they need a reminder that while the alien threat may be over that they still have us watching and recording everything they do. _

Lois nodded. She felt a certain amount of satisfaction that not only was she Torchwood's instrument and documenting what happened, but also their messenger. She sat up straighter and cleared her throat. No one paid attention at first, so after a second attempt, she stood up.

Everyone's eyes turned towards the movement at the end of the room. Voices trailed off as she stood. Without saying a word, she reminded them of what she represented. Prime Minister Green frowned at her.

"Yes?" He asked curtly. Lois straightened up and brought her shoulders back in response to the venomous look in his eyes at her interruption.

"These sessions are still being recorded," Lois said calmly, her chin up as she stared at the group before her. "And Torchwood is still prepared to use that data, if necessary."

General Pierce sighed. "Harkness is gone, there is no Torchwood."

As the sound of his comment was transmitted to the group at the Hub 2, Jack let out a bark of laughter.

"How little they know," he commented. He pulled back from where he had been wrapped around Ianto, and he leaned on the desk next to Gwen. She was already typing furiously, a frown on her face. He was amused because obviously she had been insulted. Lois was obviously speaking again because the faces turned in her direction again.

"Torchwood has existed long before Jack Harkness and it continues to do the function that Queen Victoria set as its mandate over a century ago," Lois informed them, trying to keep up with the amount of text that was appearing in front of her eyes. "Torchwood is more than one man. It is a group of individuals whom you have tried to destroy and which you have failed to do." Lois felt a great amount of satisfaction at being able to say these words and take the politicians down a few pegs.

"So we're being threatened by junior operatives?" One of the cabinet members scoffed. "What can they do to us?"

"Oh, just watch us," Gwen said. She looked over at Ianto who met her gaze and nodded.

"On it," he said. He turned towards the other computer which had been showing them the direct images from Thames House. Saving that video, he used the Torchwood mainframe to tie into the building controls for Downing Street and in specific the Gold Command headquarters. Jack stood back a few paces and crossed his arms. Rhys looked from Ianto to his wife and then over to Jack. He opened his mouth and Jack shook his head without saying a word. He smiled and turned his attention back to his team.

In the Gold Command room the group started as all the doors slammed shut and the sound of bolts locking them in could be clearly heard over their talking. There was the sound of someone outside pounding on the doors, but it was obvious that the group was locked inside. Ianto triggered a projector that had been unused up until now and it dropped down from the ceiling enclosure as it started up, its light shining on the wall behind the small displays they had been using to watch the negotiations. Those displays flickered and the scene changed from the cameras at Thames House to the Torchwood logo. Jack chuckled as he watched the reactions of the cabinet.

Once the projector was on and running, Ianto ran selected clips back at the group. They had been time stamping the proceedings and using his eidetic memory, he was able to pull up specific instances where the group had been cavalierly discussing the deportment of the children of Britain. Horrified looks appeared on those people who were being shown with their words echoing loudly in the room. As the videos continued to cycle through with moments over the last several days, the team watched their reaction with looks of satisfaction on their faces.

"They're going to know what we want in exchange," Gwen said. Jack nodded and thought about it.

"I think I need to have a chat with the Prime Minister," he said. Gwen raised an eyebrow.

"Is that a good idea?" Ianto asked and Jack turned to look at him. "We have the advantage of knowing you're alive while they don't."

"Hmmm," Jack responded as he thought about it. "You are doing quite well on your own," he admitted, knowing that holding back that information would give them a tactical advantage in case they needed something later. He nodded. "All right, what do you recommend?"

"What do we want to accomplish?" Ianto asked. "Public acknowledgment of their complicity? Promise of better education and respect for the lower classes?"

"Admitting to past mistakes?" Gwen asked.

"What good would admitting anything do?" Rhys asked and the three Torchwood members turned to look at him. It was obvious that they had forgotten he was there. "What do you hope to accomplish, other than that they leave you alone to rebuild and do the job you have been commissioned to do?" He looked at each of them. Gwen looked away. "Otherwise, you're no better than they are in terms of manipulating people."

The video clips continued to play on the screen at Downing Street. The final comment was from the Prime Minister commenting about killing two birds with one stone. Ianto froze the image on the expression that Green had after saying that and left it on the screen.

"That is just a small sample of what they could release to the world," Lois said, pleased with the looks on their faces as Torchwood's threat became all too real.

Green looked at several of his advisors before turning back to her. "All right, you've proved your point. What is it that they want?"

Gwen looked up at Jack. "Well?" Jack glanced down at her and smiled nodded.

"Rhys is right," he said. Gwen smiled and turned back to the screen. She typed and a moment later, Lois spoke.

"They want to be left to do the job they are trained to do," Lois said calmly. "Without interference from the military, UNIT or the government. Much of this could have been prevented if certain factions had thought of that to begin with," and here she slanted a glance in Frobisher's direction. At least he had the good grace to look ashamed of himself, she thought. "If those people had left them to do their job in the first place, perhaps this hysteria could have been avoided.

"So leave them alone to rebuild what you destroyed. Leave their families alone and let them do the job that the Queen commissioned them to do." She stopped speaking and the group all turned to look as one at the Prime Minister.

He stared at her, his pale eyes showing no emotion. He knew they were getting off easy with only that request to let Torchwood rebuild. He nodded. "All right."

"Good," she said. She sat down again and crossed her ankles, her steno pad in her lap.

When Ianto saw that they had an agreement he looked over at Jack, who nodded. Ianto tapped the keyboard and the locks were disengaged at Downing Street as the projector blanked and shut down. A moment later guards came rushing into the room, intent on protecting the cabinet from an invisible menace. Green waved them off. The soldiers retreated in confusion, since there was no menace to fight. He looked at Lois for a long moment before turning away in a clear dismissal.

"We're done here for now," he said to his cabinet. They adjourned without further discussion, leaving him to sit by himself at the table. A few loyal followers like Yates lingered, unsure of what to do next, but with no active acknowledgement from the Prime Minister they left the room as well.

John Frobisher stood and after carefully stacking his folders, he turned to stare at Lois. There was a small smile on his face as he handed the files to Bridget. "I think your services will no longer be needed in my office," he told Lois. Then he nodded once and turned to leave, his loyal assistant at his heels. Lois remained at the request of Gwen who had typed a message asking her to stay behind.


	29. Chapter 29

The silence stretched out as Prime Minister Green stared down at the notepad before him, lost in thought. Gwen asked Lois to look about the room and once they were alone, Green's mobile rang. He blinked and looked down at the display. It showed one word – Torchwood.

Sighing, he flipped it open and brought the phone to his ear. "What now?" He asked in a tired voice.

"Brian, I thought you'd be more enthusiastic," Jack said in a jovial tone. He was taking great pleasure in being able to watch the Prime Minister's reaction as the man recognized the sound of his voice.

"But…" Brian Green blinked in shock. He knew what he had seen. Jack Harkness had died in a blaze of personal glory inside Thames House. The fact that he was hearing the man's voice now was a total shock. "This is impossible."

"That's not a word in my vocabulary," Jack informed him. He grinned as he watched the Prime Minister's reaction. He did have to give Green points for a quick recovery, since the man responded faster than he had expected.

"Apparently so," Brian Green responded. "So you survived. One would have thought you'd have passed the count of nine by now," he said dryly. Jack chuckled in his ear.

"Oh, I'm way past nine," Jack told him. "Unfortunately for you." He heard another sigh in his ear from the Prime Minister and he grinned. Gwen was sitting off to one side watching the screen as Jack talked. "I just wanted to thank you personally for being so reasonable in our discussions," Jack went on, "and to let you know there are no hard feelings between us."

"Well, that is a relief," the Prime Minister stated. "That would have kept me sleepless at night to have thought that."

Jack laughed outright. "And I really wouldn't want that," he replied. "But we have a little unresolved issue." He watched at the Prime Minister frowned at his comment.

"I take it this is not over?" Green replied.

"There's still the issue of how you deal with this to the public," Jack said to him.

"You're expecting me to resign," Green said flatly.

"No," Jack informed him. "Better the devil I know, as the saying goes. No, but I want you to be careful with how you take credit for this. And I'd like to ask you to seriously consider how you can help those people whose lives you were planning on throwing to the dogs in the interest of expediency while saving your own." Green did not respond, only sat in the room, frozen in place with the mobile at his ear. "This is not a threat, but a bit of advice," Jack told him. "It may do wonders for your career."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Green responded in an even tone.

"Good," Jack told him. "That's all I ask." He rung off before the Prime Minister could reply and he gently placed the mobile in his hand down on the desk. Silence descended upon the warehouse as they watched Lois stand up and leave the room.

Gwen typed a message of thanks and told Lois that she would be in touch. She told Lois to head home. A jerky nod was her response and Gwen watched as Lois left the building and grabbed a taxi. She wanted to make sure that there would be no reprisals for what she did. It seemed like the mantel of protection that Torchwood's association provided would allow her to leave without any further incident.

Ianto picked up Jack's mobile and dialed a number. Gwen looked at him curiously but Jack didn't seem surprised.

"Rhi?" He said in a low voice that didn't carry past the edge of the desk where Gwen was sitting. "It's me. It's over."

"Oh Ianto!" Rhi exclaimed. She had been sitting on the sofa with all of the children huddled close, scared that at any moment the military was going to bust their way in again. "Is it really over?"

"Yes," Ianto said. "You can relax." He could hear Johnny in the background saying something about gathering some bricks and Rhiannon telling him not to bother. It made him chuckle and he looked up to share an amused glance with Jack. "Listen, I have work to do, but I just wanted to let you know. I'll give you a ring once things calm down a bit."

"Come by when you can," Rhiannon said. "We have a conversation to finish." Ianto rolled his eyes and Jack raised an eyebrow.

"I told you everything already," Ianto protested. Gwen exchanged a glance with Rhys, who shrugged.

"But I still want to know about this man of yours," Rhi teased, releasing the tension from the last couple of days.

"Rhi, please," Ianto pleaded, desperate to get off the phone and end the conversation. "Not now. Look, I've got to go. Love you."

"Love you, hon," Rhiannon responded. He rang off a moment later and sighed. Jack chuckled and Ianto narrowed his eyes in annoyance. Then a moment later he grinned and held out the mobile to Jack. Jack looked down in surprise at the device thrust in his direction.

"Yeah?" Jack asked.

"You owe your daughter a call," Ianto informed him. Jack frowned. "I told her we'd get in touch once this was all over."

"Well, you call her," Jack said. He pushed Ianto's hand away. Ianto smiled and pushed it back in Jack's direction.

"She's not my daughter," he informed Jack. Jack opened his mouth and Ianto put up a hand to forestall him. "You owe her." He stared steadily at Jack who closed his mouth and sighed. Picking up the mobile, he stalked off in the other direction, away from the small group at the computers. Ianto watched him walk away with an unreadable expression on his face.

"That's going to be a fun conversation," Rhys observed. Ianto looked at him and nodded. Gwen just stared after Jack. When neither his wife nor her team mate spoke, Rhys filled in the silence. "So, we can go back to Cardiff?"

"Yeah, I suppose so," Ianto replied. His attention was still on Jack who was having a conversation on the mobile, but was too far away to hear. "We have one hell of a cleanup job to do."

"I know a good haulage firm where we might be able to get some cheap rates," Gwen said with a sideways glance towards her husband. He looked surprised for a moment before laughing. "I heard they've very good at security so people can't steal what you put in their lorries."

"Is that a fact?" Ianto asked and Gwen nodded. "Well, we better ring them up and see if they can help us out."

"I've got an in with the manager," Gwen said in a confiding tone and Ianto smiled. "I'll speak with him."

"Grand," Ianto replied. Rhys was still chuckling before he ended up glancing at Clem, who was staring blankly off into the darkness. "Gwen?"

"Yeah?" She asked. She was shutting down the computer feed from Lois and packing up the laptop.

"What about him?" Rhys asked with a jerk of his head in Clem's direction. Gwen looked at him and sighed.

"I'm not sure," she said. She left off what she was doing and moved over to the sofa where Clem was sitting. She frowned when she realized that he had bled at some point, her eyes taking in the streaks that had dried on his neck. She suppressed a shudder when she realized how he had suffered through all of this.

"Clem?" She asked. He just kept on staring and didn't respond to her until she touched him. He finally turned to look at her. "Hey."

"They're gone," he whispered, his eyes looking wild to her.

"Who?" She asked. Involuntarily, he looked upwards. "The aliens?" He nodded jerkily. "That's a good thing, right?" He nodded again and twitched all over as if shaking off some invisible fleas.

"I can't hear them anymore," Clem said. He sounded a little forlorn at the idea, but Gwen just felt a sense of relief.

"Clem, it's over. They won't bother you again," she said. He looked at her doubtfully and she smiled reassuringly at him. At least she hoped that they would never return. This time had been a traumatic enough experience for them all. "You're free of them. Free to start over again." He looked at her blankly. "Free to go home."

"I have no home," he stated. "Only my room at hospital." Gwen nodded.

"We'll find you a place," she assured him. She looked over at Ianto's direction. "Ianto, can we get him into one of the safe houses for now?"

"Yeah, we can," Ianto said. He logged into the appropriate service and started the paperwork, along with having some counseling planned to assist Clem in getting back into normal society. Rhys watched over his shoulder at Ianto efficiently set everything up. "Sorted. Fitzgerald House has an opening. I've put him there."

"Great, I'll take care of the rest," she said. She put a reassuring hand on Clem's arm and told him that they'd help him get settled. She looked up at Rhys and he nodded his agreement. Smiling, she stood and walked over to him. "You are gorgeous, you know that?"

"Me?" Rhys looked down at her in amusement. "I didn't do anything."

"Exactly," she told him and gave him a kiss. "And that's why I love you." She pulled his head down for another kiss. Ianto chuckled and Jack looked up from where he was walking, having hung up after speaking to his daughter. Gwen turned to look at him as he walked over. "Everything all right?"

"As right as it ever is," Jack said cryptically. He visibly shook himself and the pleasant façade that was the face he showed when he was bothered by something descended. "Let's pack up and go home."


	30. Chapter 30

They pulled everything apart and soon the only thing left was the tie in to the electrical system. Rhys held open the door as they lugged the equipment out before Ianto went back to shut the system down. He walked through the empty space and stopped at the door. Looking back, he saw the wall where Rhys had written the Hub 2 name and he smiled before turning to where Rhys held open the door.

"All set?" Rhys asked. Ianto nodded and stepped out into the sunlight. Rhys closed the door and Ianto picked up the padlock and placed it on the door again. They had broken it, but with a little finagling, he made it look like the door was still locked to the casual observer. Not that there was anything inside, other than memories. Ianto turned away to where Gwen and Jack were finishing up packing the boot of the Rover.

Rhys sensed that the three needed a moment to themselves and so went off to one side with Clem, pointing out the trains as they went by. Gwen smiled at him, grateful for his tact in letting them have some space for a moment.

"Well," Jack said. He looked around the abandoned space before looking up at the sky. The sun was shining and he peered upwards, wondering what the blue sky held for them next. Shrugging off the thought, he looked back down. "Three of us, three vehicles."

"Five of us, four who can drive," Ianto said. "Actually, correction. Three of us who can drive, and one who drives like a homicidal maniac." Gwen giggled and Jack glanced at her sourly. "And only one of these cars was obtained legally. And I really do have to return it to my sister before my brother-in-law blows a gasket."

"That might be fun to watch," Jack said with a grin. Ianto just gave him a disgusted look and Gwen giggled harder at their antics. "All right, I tell you what," he said. The other two looked at him expectantly. "Gwen, you and Rhys take Clem in the Rover. Take him to the safe house, get him set up and then head home. It's safe now. I'll follow Ianto back to his sister's where we'll drop off the car."

"Then what?" Gwen asked. "It's not like you can go back to the Hub."

"I'll go back to Ianto's," Jack said with a nod. "Half my clothes are there, anyhow. And I'm getting a bit sick of tan," he said, indicating his trousers with his hand. Ianto chuckled softly. "Let's give ourselves a couple of days and then we'll tackle the problem of the Hub."

"I'll ring Andy, let him know everything is okay and ask if they can put some security on the area so nothing grows legs and walks off by itself," Gwen said. Jack nodded. She smiled up at him and gave him a hug.

"Thank you," he whispered in her ear. "I couldn't have done this without you. And thank Rhys as well. He's kind of an honorary member of the team now."

"Oh, don't you go getting ideas in your head!" Gwen protested, putting up her hands and fending him off. "You are not recruiting my husband!"

"No?" Jack asked with a grin. Gwen shook her head violently. "Oh, he proved to be very handy."

"Well, except for his poor timing with the beans," Ianto tossed in. Jack glanced over at him and chuckled.

"Point taken," he said. Gwen looked mystified by his comment. "Never mind. Just go. Get some rest." She nodded and reached up to kiss him on cheek before turning back to where her husband was standing next to the Rover. Ianto and Jack waved to them as they got in and took off for the ride back to Cardiff.

"Well, it's just us," Jack said. "I'll follow you back to Rhi's place, yeah?" Ianto stood with his hands on his hips and surveyed the two cars. He nodded.

"Yeah, that will do," he said. He started to turn away when Jack reached out and touched his arm, stopping him from leaving just yet. Ianto angled back towards Jack. "Yeah?"

Jack tugged on him until he held Ianto in his arms, his hands circling around Ianto's hips. "Hey, not so fast," he protested. "I want to say something to you."

"Yeah?" Ianto asked. "What's that?"

"Thank you," Jack said. He moved one hand up so he could touch Ianto's face. "I sent you through Hell in so many ways this week and I want to apologize for that." Ianto looked at him before glancing downwards. "Ianto."

"Yeah," Ianto murmured. "It's okay. It had to be done," he said. He felt the pressure of Jack's fingers on his face, urging him to look up. After a moment, he reluctantly did so. "It's okay."

"No, it isn't," Jack said. "I'm sorry. And Ianto?"

Ianto stared up at him and waited for him to continue. Jack stared into his eyes as he thought about what his other half had said to him before leaving on their mission. The other Jack had said "Let's stop being stupid and tell him." He had agreed. They – he, he amended in his mind, needed to tell this incredible man how he felt. How much Ianto meant to him. He opened his mouth and Ianto reached up a finger to stop him.

"You don't have to," Ianto said softly. Jack stared at him. "Don't."

"I have to," Jack said against Ianto's finger. "No more secrets, remember?" Ianto closed his eyes as he heard his words bounce back at him. Jack tightened his hold on the man in front of him, pulling him close. He then reached up and cupped Ianto's face. "I love you, Ianto Jones." He heard the other man inhale as he said those words to him for the first time.

Ianto looked into his eyes, seeing the love reflected here. The love he had always known was there, but that they had both been too scared to say. Too afraid to speak out loud. He trembled as he thought of how many times they could have lost one another in the past week without having said those words to one another. He licked his lips.

"I love you, too," he said, his voice catching on the last word. Jack pulled him in for a kiss. Ianto closed his eyes and leaned into Jack's kiss. Memories of the other Jack and their last moments together were in the forefront of his mind. The kiss was the same. Jack's touch was the same. It was still his Jack, despite the memories he had. He opened his mouth to Jack, absorbing him into his soul. After a long moment, they parted enough to look each other in the eye. Nothing more was said. Nothing more needed to be said. Jack smiled at him.

"Race you back to Cardiff," he said, breaking the moment between them. He pulled back and Ianto sighed.

"I am not getting pulled over by the police because you want to run that sports car back to Cardiff," Ianto said in a forbidding tone. "Do what you want, but I'm going the speed limit, like any sane individual."

"Awww, where's the fun in that?" Jack complained as he trailed after Ianto who was headed over to his sister's car. "Come on, Ianto!" He yelled as the other man moved to the driver's side of the car. "It will be fun!"

"No it won't!" Ianto protested! "I'm not doing it!" He got into the car and started the engine. Jack stood where he was and Ianto executed a precise three-point turn until he could speak out of the open driver's window. "Come on, don't dawdle!" Jack grinned and ran over to the Porsche. Getting in, he started the engine and headed off after Ianto. He'd beat Ianto back to Cardiff, but at least he'd have a little fun goading him along in the process.

The two cars headed out of the industrial park, leaving only a trail of dust in their wake.

~*~ FIN ~*~

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_A/N: Thanks for reading. This story went in directions I hadn't planned, but then the characters take you in odd journeys sometimes. There may be a sequel to this at some point. If there is, keep an eye out for it. Nothing written yet, but you never know!_


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